​“I just want people to be happy when they see my paintings” says artist Erin Hanson. In her studio, golden frames surround large panels of dizzying flower fields, jagged red cliffs, rivers trickling over rocky beds, and dense mountain forests. Erin’s art draws inspiration from the great outdoors. Whether she is visiting a new city for a show or touring a national park, she is constantly in search of scenes to paint.

Many of her works are inspired by her experiences rock-climbing and backpacking—she still takes week-long trips once or twice a year for the sheer enjoyment as well as to find more material for her paintings.
​Erin has developed a personal style, called “open impressionism” making oil paint her primary medium because she likes the texture and its resemblance to the great Vincent van Gogh.