Orientalist | pencil & watercolor
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What a treat to feature the remarkable work of Eric Hanson—who is both a nationally award-winning illustrator and writer—someone whose work I have long admired over the years. His illustrations have been honored time and again in multiple industry publications and beyond. And his client list across North America, Europe and Japan is equally impressive.
Eric’s illustrations have appeared in numerous publications including The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, House & Garden, Gourmet, TIME magazine, Kiplinger’s, Rolling Stone plus more.
He has designed product lines for Pottery Barn and illustrated books for Knopf (the Chic Simple series), Chronicle, Random House and Pantheon. His fiction is published in McSweeney’s.
Eric’s keen work is playful, conceptually driven and oft carried out with a beautiful economic aesthetic. I am especially fond of his recent black and white pencil illustrations in addition to his early pencil and watercolor works that are peppered in here. These works won several awards. “But it was a difficult form to navigate through the sketch approval process. The forms needed to be simple and recognizable. There was no room for elaboration or detail. It’s one of the styles that didn’t emerge from any other influences, all invented by accident.”
And speaking of influences, Eric has a long list including Andy Warhol, Ronald Searle, Max Beckmann, Edward Bawden, Eric Ravilious, Ben Shahn and David Stone Martin. Some of these influences are especially apparent, yes. Look on and enjoy…
A Book of Ages | 2008 book authored by Eric
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A witty and ironic collection of moments from famous lives—triumphs, failures, revealing anecdotes, odd incidents, crossed paths, missed chances, early and late masterpieces, mid-life crises and reinventions, great partnerships, changes of heart and changes of mind—organized by year of age. The perfect birthday gift.
>> Learn more at the official website A Book of Ages
Dot Series | gallery show exhibit | pen & watercolor
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Guitarist | appeared in The Believer, “heavily influenced by Max Beckmann”
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Family Solar System | pencil
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Men’s Faces | pencil
Snow Suits | editorial illustration spread for Snow Magazine | pencil & watercolor
Article on the evolution of ski fashion, written & illustrated by Eric.
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Ski Fashion | pencil & watercolor
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Big Hair | children’s book series about hair run amok | watercolor
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Direction | pencil & watercolor
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This painting represents the misdirection of our political leaders. It was painted in 2001. I like using ceramic, usually Staffordshire, figures as a form to anchor the metaphor.
Crowd | pen & watercolor
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[...] painted for a promo piece. I had been writing an article about childhood fears and it certainly influenced the feel. The children are small and rather beleaguered. Art directors sometimes ask me if I forgot to paint some of the faces, but I really like leaving color out sometimes. This was printed large for use as a promo designed by Sharon Werner.
[ All work & images ©Eric Hanson ]
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Thank you Eric for sharing your suberb work and your time!
>> See much more on Eric’s website + blog
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