[Interview] A Journey Into the Colorful World of Open Impressionism: Erin Hanson x Samsung Art Store

“I know my pieces are influencing AI models and millions of digital paintings. While I’m not sure where this trend will lead, I do know that original art created by humans will always be the basis of any technology in the future.”

Erin Hanson’s artistic journey is as vivid as the landscapes she paints. Drawing from the dramatic hues of Red Rock Canyon in Nevada and the Pacific coast, Hanson uses bold colors and textured brushstrokes in her signature style of “Open Impressionism.”

Through Samsung’s long-standing partnership with Saatchi Art, customers can access her unique works and access her colorful world on Samsung Art Store. Samsung Newsroom sat down with Hanson to discuss the scenery that inspires her and hear how technology is blurring boundaries in the art world by merging the physical with the digital.

▲ Erin Hanson

Letting Creativity Bloom

Q: Tell us a bit about your artistic journey. When did you begin painting?

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be an artist. I started with oil paintings when I was 8 years old and explored other mediums — but I was always drawn back to oils since that’s what the masters painted in. When I hold a brush full of buttery paint and breathe in the smell of oils, I feel directly connected to the great painters of the past.

Q: Please tell us more about Open Impressionism.

People kept telling me that my paintings were distinctive and instantly recognizable, so I formed the term Open Impressionism after I had crafted about 400 paintings in this unique style. My focus is on color, light and the feeling of being surrounded by beauty in the outdoors. I call my style “open” because my inspiration comes from open-air landscapes. I use the impasto technique and keep my impressionistic paintings highly textured without smearing or blending colors. Through decisive brushstrokes, I let the underpainting peek out to give my works the appearance of stained glass or a mosaic.

▲ “Dawning Saguaro” (2021)

Q: Your paintings often feature stunning natural landscapes. What are your favorite locations? How have they influenced your creative process?

My first muses were the rocky landscapes of Nevada and southern Utah — the saturated colors of the scenic desert gave me endless subject matter whenever I went rock climbing at Red Rock Canyon. I’ve now explored many national parks and monuments including Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, Monument Valley, the Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelly.

When I moved back to California, I started exploring Carmel and Mendocino on the Pacific coast. I fell in love with painting the vineyards, oak trees and rolling hills of California’s wine country. Yosemite and Lake Tahoe always draw me in with their dramatic colors and seasons.

“When I hold a brush full of buttery paint and breathe in the smell of oils, I feel directly connected to the great painters of the past.”

Framing Nature’s Beauty

Q: Your painting “Coastal Poppies II” is a favorite among users of The Frame. How did you translate this captivating piece for a digital platform?

“Coastal Poppies II” is inspired by one of my favorite coastal views in California, near Heart Castle and Big Sur. The painting brings me back to a time when the poppies were in full bloom, and I was standing alongside Highway 1 on the edge of the Pacific Coast — looking down into the rich aquamarine water with the salty ocean air blowing into my face. The contrast in colors and textures was so breathtaking that I completed four paintings in this series. The most recent was “Coastal Poppies IV” in 2022.

▲ “Coastal Poppies II” (2020)

“I formed the term Open Impressionism after I had crafted about 400 paintings in this unique style. My focus is on color, light and the feeling of being surrounded by beauty in the outdoors. I’ve [now] painted more than 3,000 oil pieces in [this] style.”

Q: Can you share how you feel about your work being displayed on The Frame?

I like The Frame because the art is displayed on a wall, right where a real painting would hang. My fans and collectors can experience the brushstrokes and rhythms of texture within the painting which can be difficult to see on smaller displays.

I am also amazed at how well the Frame recreates the vibrant colors of my artwork. My impressionist paintings are all about color, and I love how the Frame captures the colors so accurately!

*Editor’s note: In 2024, The Frame became the first in the industry to earn the Pantone® Validated ArtfulColor certification. The Matte Display also minimizes light reflection to help viewers admire art under overhead room lights or even daylight.

Q: Out of all your pieces that users can display on The Frame, which are your top three picks?

My favorites are “Coastal Poppies II,” “Apple Blossoms” and “Cherry Blossoms.”

▲ “Apple Blossoms” (2023)

“Apple Blossoms” was inspired by a 30-year-old apple tree on my property. Since I moved up to the Willamette Valley in the Oregon wine country, I’ve been attracted to the four seasons in the Northwest.

▲ “Cherry Blossom” (2023)

“Cherry Blossom” captures a grove of blooming cherry trees near my gallery in McMinnville, Oregon. With pink cherry blossoms against a perfect blue sky, the painting is truly a harbinger of spring.

Q: “Apple Blossoms” will be part of Samsung Art Store’s April curated collection, “Spring in Bloom.” What can users expect?

The “Spring in Bloom” collection will capture everything there is to love about springtime. I live in Oregon, where spring arrives after a long, cold and wet winter. It feels like that moment in “The Wizard of Oz” when the world turns to technicolor — almost like someone flipped a switch one night, and the world is suddenly full of daffodils, mustard fields and flowering plum and cherry trees. I hope users get to experience that same kind of wonder and magic when they see this collection.

“My dream is to create an immersive Erin Hanson experience where people can step right into my paintings [in a digital environment] and be surrounded by moving pictures of my artwork.”

Embracing Immersive Art Through Technology

Q: Can you share more about what drew you to work with Saatchi Art, a longtime partner of Samsung Art Store?

Beyond showing its works on The Frame, Saatchi Art is the best online hub for showcasing original artwork. The art collection is well-curated, and there is an amazing variety of styles and mediums. The fact that there is something for everyone makes it a great way for collectors to find new artwork, again and again. I have been selling my work through Saatchi Art for over a decade now. The Saatchi team is always helpful and easy to work with.

Q: Traditional art galleries allow viewers to experience paintings in person and fully appreciate the texture, brushstrokes and scale. How do you think digital formats impact the way people engage with art?

I’ve painted more than 3,000 oil pieces in my Open Impressionism style — and truthfully, I struggled to find ways to share my work with fans and collectors. Although I have several coffee table books and many paper prints, the best way to share my collections is through digital formats.

For digital formats, we typically look for compositions that work well on a long, horizontal layout. To obtain such high-resolution images of my paintings, we use a large scanner in my gallery that takes up the entire room. The scanner photographs the paintings from above using five different light angles, so we can control the amount of shadow that is visible in the final images. This variation gives the illusion of three dimensions, so you can almost reach out and feel the brushstrokes.

In addition, we map my oil paintings to produce high-resolution, three-dimensional textured prints. They’re so lifelike that most people can’t tell the difference between the replica and the original.

My dream is to create an immersive Erin Hanson experience where people can step right into my paintings and be surrounded by moving pictures of my artwork. In a digital environment like this, visitors can appreciate a larger quantity of art than the dozen or so pieces they might see hanging in a gallery or festival setting.

Q: Do you see technology playing an increasingly significant role in the art world? If so, how do you anticipate this trend to unfold in the years to come?

I am sure technical innovators will continue to find new ways to create and share artwork. For example, bigger The Frame TVs would allow art lovers to display even larger works of art on their walls. I know my pieces are influencing AI models and millions of digital paintings. While I’m not sure where this trend will lead, I do know that original art created by humans will always be the basis of any technology in the future. A computer may be able to alter and combine different paintings to create a new piece, but the original images were all created by individual artists who viewed the world in their own distinct ways.

Q: Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?

This year, I am traveling to France to follow the footsteps of the impressionists and visit all the famously painted locations in Paris, trailing the Seine to Arles and Le Havre in southern France. I will be visiting the windowsill where Van Gogh sat and painted “Starry Night” and exploring the gardens Monet so famously painted. This has been a dream of mine for several years, and it is finally coming true. Afterward, I plan to create a collection of French-inspired works in homage to the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition.

The works from this collection, “Reflections of the Seine,” will be released in September. You can read more here: erinhanson.com/Event/ReflectionsoftheSeine.