Cherry in BloomAI

Look up, and you find yourself beneath a canopy of cherry blossoms in full bloom. This view is exactly what Erin Hanson gives us in "Cherry in Bloom," a painting that puts you flat on your back under the tree, gazing skyward. The trunk rises up at an angle on the left, its bark broken into chunky strokes of purple, blue, and silver, while clusters of pink and coral flowers float against a bright turquoise sky. It is a perspective we rarely stop to take in, that simple wonder of looking straight up through branches.

Hanson is the creator of a style she calls "Open Impressionism," where she lays down thick, bold brushstrokes of color and never paints over them. There is no blending and no fussing, just clean dabs of paint placed side by side, almost like a mosaic. You can see how the blossoms are built from separate touches of pink, salmon, and orange, and how the branches snake through in deep blue lines. She works fast and direct, often finishing a piece while the colors are still fresh and lively.

What makes this painting fun is how the unexpected colors feel completely right. A tree trunk is not usually purple and the sky is not really teal, but together they capture the dazzling, almost dizzy feeling of standing under spring blossoms on a sunny day. Hanson found her path to art through rock climbing in the red cliffs of Nevada, which gave her a love of big landscapes and vivid color, and that same energy shows up here in something as small and gentle as a flowering tree.