Erin Hanson’s Water Art

Water has inspired artists since time immemorial. From ancient rock paintings to Egyptian and Roman mosaics, from Botticelli’s Birth of Venus to Rembrandt’s The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, artists throughout history have been inspired by the beauty and power found in bodies of water. 

With our survival as a species riding on our access to water and waterways, it’s no wonder that artwork showcasing water is constantly being created. The work is as varied as water itself. While Monet painted waterscapes filled with water lilies, Van Gogh painted the Rhone River. 

Erin Hanson’s work is no exception. She has created over two hundred coastal landscapes, a collection of water lily paintings, and innumerable works featuring rivers and lakes. Water, its motion, reflections, and beauty have all been featured in many of her paintings.

Not only has Erin created hundreds of pieces of water art, she has painted landscapes from across the United States and the world, showcasing both beautiful coastalscapes on the west coast, the reflections of autumnal landscapes on east coast rivers, incredible Japanese vistas, and more.

Here are several pieces of water art that can be found in Erin Hanson’s impressionist portfolio:

Water Lilies Art

As mentioned above, one of the classic subjects of water-inspired art is water lilies. Erin Hanson is not immune to the lure of green water lilies floating serenely on a pond. She has created a water lilies collection of impressionist paintings, each capturing a different moment. Her water lilies paintings encapsulate the glint of sunlight reflecting off of water, providing a depth of color and brilliance that is a hallmark of her open impressionist paintings. Here are a few of her many water lilies artworks:

Lilies Reflection, 2019

Lily Pond, 2020

Koi and Lilies, 2021

Lily Blues, 2023

Water Lilies in Bloom, 2023

California Coastal Art 

The California coast has inspired artists, particularly impressionist artists, for over a century. The coastal outlooks of Monterey, San Diego, and other significant spots have inspired artists to create paintings of ever-changing motion, sunset views, and more. The pieces below are just a few of the many California coast-inspired artwork created by Erin Hanson.

Mendocino Diptych, 2023

Garrapata Beach, 2023

Summerland Coast, 2023

Sunset in Reflection, 2023

Sunset Light in Triptych, 2023

Florida Coastal Art

Erin has visited the Florida coast several times but has rarely painted it. Her works in this area often focus on the vast skies and open stretches of water seen along some Florida beaches. Each impressionist painting is a classic look at the quiet waters and enormous clouds seen along some Florida coastlines.

Florida Palms, 2021

Florida Reflections, 2023

Florida Sky, 2024

Pacific Northwest Water Art

The Pacific Northwest is Erin Hanson's home and the home of The Erin Hanson Gallery. She has been painting the Oregon coast for many years, capturing the motion and depth of the incredible ocean shores found along the many rocky beaches. You may see a theme among her Pacific Northwest paintings, as she particularly loves painting Haystack Rock found at Cannon Beach. However, there is many coastal sights, rivers, ponds, lakes, and estuaries to work from here in the Pacific Northwest, giving her many landscapes for inspiration. Here are just a few of her Oregon and Washington paintings depicting water: 

Haystack Rock, 2014

Gilded Reflection, 2015

Haystack Coast, 2017

Oregon Cascades, 2020

Baker Creek, 2021

Pelican Sky, 2021

Sunset Reflections, 2021

Winding Grass, 2021

Pacific Sunset, 2022

Oregon Cascades, 2022

January Reflections, 2023

Leaf Peeping on the East Coast

You may have noticed a trend by now. Erin Hanson loves to create art that captures reflections found in water. Reflections of trees, mountains, leaves, sunsets, sunrises, and more. When she went leaf peeping along the East Coast, Erin found many opportunities to paint water art that featured the reflections she saw of the brilliant leaves turning red, gold, and cadmium for autumn. Autumnal water art is particularly beautiful because it features the brilliant blues of the water against vibrant autumn colors.

White Mountains Brook, 2017

Reflections in Color, 2018

Crystal Creek, 2018

Acadia Dawn, 2018

Color Reflection, 2018

Sunscape, 2019

White Mountains Autumn, 2022

Japan Water Art

Erin Hanson has visited Japan twice on inspiration expeditions, once in 2018 and once this year, in 2024. The first time, she went in the fall to capture the incredible color of changing leaves around Japan during the autumn months. The second time, she visited during the Sakura festival, when all of the cherry blossoms were in bloom. During both visits, she was struck by the beautiful water features in all of the cities and natural areas she explored. Both times she traveled, she found inspiration in this lovely country, and created many works of art featuring water, reflections, and the vibrant color for which she is known.

Autumn Dawning, 2018

Dawn Reflection, 2018

Kyoto Pines, 2018

Viridian Filigree, 2019

Kyoto Reflections, 2021

Maple Forest, 2021

Sakura Reflections, 2024

National Parks Water Art

National parks have been and always will be an immense source of inspiration in much of Erin Hanson's work. She has painted hundreds of paintings in national and state parks, national monuments, and protected areas. As every living thing requires a water source, each visit to a national park has naturally taken her to water sources such as ponds, rivers, lakes, and the ocean. Erin's waterscapes are beautiful, vast, and filled with meaning, showcasing the richness and diversity found in our nation's most treasured parks. Below are just a few of these pieces:

Reflections at Barker, 2013

Joshua Tree National Park

Autumn in Gold, 2014

Cedar Breaks National Park

Torrey Vista, 2015

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve

Aspen Row, 2016 

Cedar Breaks National Park

Autumn Grace, 2018

Acadia National Park

Coastal Overlook, 2018

Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve 

Reflections in the Rio Grande, 2018

Big Bend National Park

Emerald Pools, 2018

Zion National Park

Hop Valley Wash, 2020

Zion National Park

Glacier Peaks, 2021

Glacier National Park

Grand Canyon Light, 2022

Grand Canyon National Park

Over the years that Erin has been painting in her unique, open impressionist style, she has created many hundreds of pieces of water art. The above are just a few of the waterscapes, coastal landscapes, and water-filled artworks she has painted. You can find and explore her entire portfolio here.