Cultivated Light

Sunset spills across a farm field in "Cultivated Light," a 2022 painting by American artist Erin Hanson. She works in a style she named "Open Impressionism," which means every color goes on the canvas in thick, chunky strokes placed side by side, never mixed or blended. The effect is a bit like a mosaic, with hundreds of little tiles of paint building up the pink and purple sky, the golden light along the horizon, and the plowed rows sweeping through the field in greens, blues, and warm yellows. A dark, twisting tree stands in the foreground, framing the scene and guiding your eye toward the glowing distance.

Hanson's love of big western scenery comes from her upbringing near Red Rock Canyon in Nevada, where she spent time in a rock climbing community surrounded by dramatic desert landscapes. Early in her career she set herself a tough goal of finishing one new painting every week, and that practice pushed her toward the bold, stripped-down look she is known for today. Seen from across the room, this reads as a quiet country evening. Move in closer and the whole thing dissolves into a lively scatter of pure color, which is really the fun of how she paints.