Monterey Clouds

Windswept cypress trees lean against the sky along this rocky Monterey coastline, their gnarled branches a signature of California's Pacific edge. The sea sparkles in a thousand small strokes of turquoise, teal, and green, each dab of paint catching light like sun scattered across the water. Down below, the rocks refuse to stay gray. Instead they burn with pinks, purples, and oranges, giving the whole shore a surprising warmth and energy.

Erin Hanson painted this in 2022, working in a style she named "Open Impressionism." Her method is bold and direct. She lays down thick brushstrokes of unmixed color and rarely reworks a section once it's finished, which keeps the surface feeling alive and spontaneous. Having grown up roaming the wild landscapes of the American West, Hanson brings a deep fondness for nature to nearly every canvas she touches.

The sky here plays by the same rules as everything else, drifting through streaks of green and blue that suggest clouds gathering over the water. Hanson isn't after a photograph of Monterey. She's offering a brighter, more cheerful version of a place many people already know and love.