Hanging precariously and horizontally from red sandstone hundreds of feet above the ground may not seem like it would inspire the creation of beautiful oil paintings, but that is precisely what happened with Erin Hanson. The colorful cliffs of Red Rock Canyon, Nevada, inspired Erin to paint with thick, blocky strokes of paint, and she developed her own techniques of capturing the vibrant colors and bold lines of the desert, in a new style of painting that became known as Open Impressionism.

Open Impressionism uses color to create emotion, thick oil paint strokes to create movement, and separated brushwork to create a stained glass effect; a blend of classical impressionism and modern expressionism, with a dash of plein air style. Unlike traditional oil painters, Hanson does not build up the painting layer by layer; instead, she lays her paint strokes side by side without overlapping and works to get each stroke “right the first time.” These clean strokes give a mosaic effect to her paintings, while also conveying a sense of movement to her work. She uses a limited palette of only five pigments to create a vivid dance of un-muddied color upon the canvas, choosing colors that ignite the imagination and capture the emotional feeling of being out of doors.

My painting technique is done with expressive color and loose brush strokes, in a wet-on-wet technique known as “alla prima. “Alla prima comes from Italian, literally meaning ‘at first attempt’ and is loosely applied to any painting that is done in a direct, expressive style.

“I extensively plan out my paintings before I start painting with a brush, working out compositions and color combinations that will most effectively capture the drama of the landscape. I work with a limited palette of 4-5 colors, which I mix into a wide variety of hues and values appropriate to the scene I am creating. When it comes time to paint, I try to get the painting ‘right the first time,’ using as few brush strokes as possible to capture the immediacy and emotional movement of a landscape. The French term for this application is “premier coup.” You can see the texture of every brush stroke in my paintings, since I do not layer or thin my paint with turpentine. The result is an impasto oil painting with additional depth and movement from the thick texture of the paint.”

“My paintings all begin with outdoor hikes and explorations in nature. My goal when I paint is to recapture that feeling of being out of doors and surrounded by natural beauty.”

Erin’s collection is available at The Palm Beach Art Collection

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