Joan Hansen 

Whether using watercolor, oil, or acrylic, 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. Hansen moved from Superior, Wisconsin to Bonita, California, in 1979. She received an Associate of Arts Degree, with Honors, from Southwestern College, and began exhibiting her work in 1986.

Walter Foster Publishing, Inc. has contracted Hansen to write, illustrate and star in several art instruction products: a DVD entitled Getting Started in Watercolor, which won an “Award of Excellence” for “Best Art Product” at a recent CHA show; and two art instruction books, Floral Scenes, and Flowers. Hansen is a contributing author for Florals & Botanicals, Landscapes, and Color Made Easy, watercolor art instruction books; as well as Acrylic Painting, and Watercolor , which are project kits and 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 Hansen’s work for variety of products for the gift industry.

Museum shows include exhibits 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 2000 competition, and she was invited to participate in RSVP’s 2001 exhibition at The Society of Illustrators’ Main Gallery in New York City.

Other awards include Best of Show, San Diego County Fair, for Hansen’s web site design of www.joanhansenart.com; a cash award from the National Arts Program, sponsored by the Leonard W. E. Andrews Foundation of Philadelphia, for the painting Calla Lilies and Lilacs; a cash award from the Del Mar Fair’s Fine Art Exhibition, the Del Mar Award, for the painting Luminous Surf; and the San Diego Zoological Society’s Zoonooz Award for Best Interpretation of the Theme for her painting Celebrate the Colors of the Wild.

While working as an art consultant to elementary schools, Hansen taught students drawing and painting classes. Her workshop students include art guild members, high school, junior college, and adult students throughout southern California. Hansen is a juror of art shows, and has given painting demonstrations for art product manufacturers in art stores in San Diego. Hansen has had many one-person shows and continues to participate in juried art shows. The San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park carry 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.

"As artists, we have the opportunity to express our unique thoughts and passions through the medium of our choice. Interwoven through my work are threads of organic line and luminous color. The organic line symbolizes my love of nature, and the luminous color expresses my continuing passion for the vibrancy of life. It intrigues me to capture and paint the illusive choreography in Nature’s eternal dance of light and shadow.”