Artist's Statement

"Nature stopped at some point and you went further and further with it.  Great Art picks up where nature ends." -M. Chagall

I love this statement by Chagall.  It begins to give meaning to my process when I paint.  What moves me is color, form and the energy brought together when the two become one.  As I evolve as an artist, I try to look beyond the  beauty of Nature and dig deeper to create energy that moves the viewer.

Artist's Background

Born in 1955, Hans Eric Olson grew up in a small Midwestern town in Iowa.  His artistic talents began to manifest at an early age due in large part, he believes, to the constant encouragement of his mother, an accomplished artist herself. Drawing lessons for Hans began almost as early as he can remember.  He was driven to create and was often found refining his works, experimenting with the various methods of painting or studying the lives of the masters before him.

Three days after graduating from his small high school in Iowa, he left in search of an artist to apprentice with, ending up in Los Angeles.  Sheer luck landed him a job with a publishing house where he helped to illustrate various books while working with a small, exclusive group of talented artists.  He trained much like the "old world masters" in a painstaking technique called "glazing", in which layer upon layer of very thin oils are placed on the canvas.

It was at this point that Hans decided he was ready for formal art classes.  Because he always held a special place in his heart for the mountains and nature, he moved to Denver, Colorado, and enrolled in The Rocky Mountain School of Art.

He studied painting, illustration, and design, and upon completion, he made the decision to become an illustrator.  He returned to Los Angeles where work was readily available.  It was there in southern California that Olson opened his first studio and established himself as a freelance artist with assignments for book covers, magazine advertisements, record covers, and work in the motion picture industry.

After years in fast-paced California, he was ready for a vacation, so he decided to visit Maui.  "Stepping off the plane I felt that nourishing, inspiring energy that feeds the souls of artists from all around the world and I knew that I wanted to take time to paint in paradise!"  He returned to California only long enough to tie up loose ends, moving to Maui in early 1993.  During the next three years, Hans painted over 50 oil paintings of Hawaiian landscapes.  "Maui can be overwhelming at times," says Hans.  "the incredible beauty of the islands stimulates an artist's creative spirit, which produces an atmosphere where an artist can create a lot of work and feel incredibly nourished by Nature."

After three years in Maui Hans decided to do something he had never considered since he graduated from high school 23 years earlier.  He felt a calling to return to the Midwest and began painting the motifs that inspired him in his youth.  "It took almost a year to appreciate the natural beauty of this area after coming from the island of Maui.  Now I look forward to the change of seasons with great anticipation.  The simple landscape with its huge sky and rolling prairies inspires me now."

Hans now resides in Fairfield, Iowa.  "The small town atmosphere of Fairfield reminds me of the town where I grew up, Garner, Iowa.  That was a happy time in my life.  I had no worries, there were always friends and family to spend time with, life seemed to move at a slower pace."

Now Hans spends many hours exploring the natural beauty of the Midwest.  His current interest lies in the "Plein-Air" style of painting, where the artist paints directly from nature, quickly trying to capture the rapidly changing light and shadows of the landscape.