Southwest Art Magazine Article
Nationwide, USA
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
"Erin Hanson expresses her love of the desert with a thick, bold application of paint that mirrors the stark lines and shapes unique to the Southwest. An accomplished plein air painter, Erin applies elements of plein air technique to her expressionist style. Her art always stands out in a crowd, the bright colors and loose brushstrokes capturing the imagination of her viewers.
"Erin has a lifetime of experience creating art in all mediums, from dramatic comic art to peaceful landscapes. She attained a degree in Bioengineering from the University of California at Berkeley, but meanwhile her successes as an artist led to a total immersion in work as a professional artist. As a seven year old child, she wrote in her school application that she wanted to become “an artist, a scientist, and a dancer.” By age twelve, she was working with a collaboration of other painters creating enormous murals in acrylics. In 2006, she moved to Las Vegas and became a dedicated rock climber at the beautiful Red Rock Canyon. Rock climbing is a dance form itself, and Erin considers all three of her childhood dreams achieved.
"The stunning landscape of Red Rock Canyon permanently influenced Erin with its unique colors and rock formations, and rock climbing gave Erin the opportunity to experience new vistas and viewpoints never before captured in paint. She has been painting red rocks and the Southwest desert ever since."
Southwest Art Magazine, September 2011.
About Erin
ERIN HANSON has been painting in oils since she was 8 years old. As a teenager, she apprenticed at a mural studio where she worked on 40-foot-long paintings while selling art commissions on the side. After being told it was too hard to make a living as an artist, she got her degree in Bioengineering from UC Berkeley. Afterward, Erin became a rock climber at Red Rock Canyon, Nevada. Inspired by the colorful scenery she was climbing, she decided to return to her love of painting and create one new painting every week.
She has stuck to that decision, becoming one of the most prolific artists in history, with over 3,000 oil paintings sold to eager collectors. Erin Hanson’s style is known as "Open Impressionism" and is taught in art schools worldwide. With millions of followers, Hanson has become an iconic, driving force in the rebirth of impressionism, inspiring thousands of other artists to pick up the brush.