Marc R. Hanson OPA THE PAINTER

Having grown up in a military family, Marc's youth was spent on the move. He was born in Oxnard, California and spent some of his early school years there. But his geographical resume soon included Alaska, Florida, Arkansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Norway. After his father's retirement from the Air Force, Marc's family settled in the small northern California community of Loomis where he finished high school. His father was a talented artist so he grew up with his dad's paintings and cartoons all around the house. Doing art work of some kind was a common activity all through his youth. Marc began college as a biology major but soon realized that the amount of illustration in his papers vs. 'scholarly' writing suggested that he might want to pursue an art education. He applied and was accepted into Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California majoring in illustration. After Art Center, with wanderlust still in his blood Marc moved to Minnesota in 1979, staying with his grandmother who lived there, until deciding what to do next. "I have pursued a career as a painter for many years now. Along the way my methods, materials and the subject matter of my paintings have evolved. Initially, all that I wanted to paint was birds in a very naturalistic manner. I can't remember when I wasn't mesmerized by birds and flight. They were a very natural subject for me and my need to express the beauty that I saw in the world no matter where I lived. The birds as subject came first and the desire to paint followed. As I grew in ability and artistic knowledge there was a role reversal. The painting became more important and the birds as subject less so. My real interest and challenge as a painter became color, value, edges and shape and how to best manipulate those core principals into effective visual statements. Still a 'naturalist' at heart, the landscape has become the focus of my paintings." Marc teaches plein air landscape painting on a regular basis in classes and workshops in Minnesota and other locations nationally. He says " I love working with other painters in their pursuit to better their craft. My goal is not to have them assimilate my style and technique, but to teach them how to more closely examine the subject and apply the principles that representational painters must follow to become effective visual communicators." Marc has shown his work in galleries and museums around the country and the world since the early 1980's. He has studied with some of our great painters, like Richard Schmid and Zhang Wen Xin, to further his own knowledge. He is a signature member of The Oil Painters of America and a professional member of The National Academy of Professional Plein Air Painters. Marc has garnered a number of national awards including placing twice in The Pastel Journal's 'Pastel 100' competition, and winning an Award of Excellence at the O.P.A. National Exhibit in 2000.