Biography

Whether using oil, acrylic, or watercolor, Joan Hansen paints with passion and an eye for color. The award-winning vibrant paintings of landscapes, water scenes, wildlife, florals and wine themes express her love of color and nature. One of her paintings, Okapi, received an award of Best of Show at a recent exhibit.

Walter Foster Publishing, Inc. contracted Hansen to write and illustrate several art instruction products: a DVD entitled "Getting Started in Watercolor," which won an Award of Excellence for Best Art Product at the CHA show; and two art instruction books, Floral Scenes, and Flowers. Hansen is a contributing author for Florals & Botanicals, Landscapes, Color Made Easy, watercolor art instruction books, as well as Acrylic Painting, and Watercolor, which are project books for beginners. She is also a contributing artist in Painting Great Pictures from Photographs, published by Quarto Publishing in England. Splash III, and Splash IV, published by North Light Books, included her work in their books which reviewed the work of America’s best contemporary watercolorists.

Hansen’s work has also been featured in a number of magazines. Several publishing companies have licensed her art for a variety of products for the gift industry.

Museum exhibits include shows at the San Diego Museum of Art, the San Diego Natural History Museum, and the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center.

Hansen’s work was selected as a finalist for The Directory of Illustration and Design’s competition, and she was invited to participate in RSVP’s exhibition at The Society of Illustrators’ Main Gallery in New York City. This extremely popular annual illustration competition received almost nine hundred submissions from all parts of the United States, as well as Canada, Germany, Japan, Mexico and South Korea.

While working as an art consultant to elementary schools, Hansen taught students drawing and painting classes. She currently teaches workshops throughout southern California. Hansen is a jurist for art exhibitions, and has given painting demonstrations for art product manufacturers in art stores in San Diego.

Hansen has had many one-person exhibits and continues to participate in juried art shows. The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park carried many of Hansen’s wildlife posters, and have had their logo included on numerous Hansen images. Her work is collected by individuals and corporations throughout the world. She accepts commissions.

 

Joan Hansen