(Sarah en plein air | Photo courtesy of Sarah B Hansen)
For Central Oregon artist Sarah B Hansen, a love of nature drives her creation of expressionistic landscape paintings. Her artwork embodies an emotional connection to the land, reflected in her use of saturated hues, bold energetic movement, defined shapes and high contrast.
Growing up on a farm Western Colorado, Sarah spent most days outside, enjoying nature. When not on the farm, she wandered in the nearby Rocky Mountain wilderness; hiking, exploring and sketching.
Initially an interior designer in Portland, Sarah began her second career as a watercolor portrait artist, commissioning paintings throughout Central Oregon while raising her children. She is now returning to her love of the wilderness as inspiration for large-scale landscape paintings. She paints regularly outdoors and in her Terrebonne studio, creating works in acrylic, gouache and watercolor. In all mediums, she strives for energic movement.
“I imagine electricity flying off my fingers as I paint, moving quickly through shapes, dancing my brush, building the response I’m looking for.”
In her paintings, you will find textural elements. Circles imprinted in the surface represent bird calls, splatters become insects and squares of paper symbolize landscape features such as clouds or flowers. Layers of paint evoke a sense of mystery and time to her pieces, a feeling that abundant life is happening just beyond the senses.
A regular contributor to High Desert Museum’s Art in the West Exhibit, including winning Jury’s Choice Award in 2019, Sarah also teaches water media classes regionally and abroad. She is a member of American Women Society of Artists, American Impressionistic Society and a signature member of the Northwest Watercolor Society. She contributed nearly 500 prints to the recent Sunriver Resort remodel. Her work can be found in residential homes worldwide and in commercial venues, notably Cascade Medical Imaging, Lifetime Vision Care and Western Title. She is represented by Tumalo Art Co. in Bend, Rickard’s Gallery in Sisters and Marmot Art Space in Spokane.