Meet Eric Hanson: Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric Hanson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
I tell people that the Art Business is 10% art and 90% business. What I mean by that is I spend approximately ten percent of my time painting, and the rest I spend sending emails, making phone calls, knocking doors, displaying my work, doing research, analyzing my efforts, figuring out my budget, cleaning up after myself, etc.   When you have an employer, they’ll take care of that stuff, but when you’re by yourself, you have to do it all.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I’ve always wanted to do something artistic but was too inhibited to do anything about it. Then when my daughter was about two years old, she was drawing ALL the time, with zero inhibition. So, I thought to myself, “Why am I not doing that?” After a little consideration, I decided that I was going to pursue a career in painting. I didn’t know what I was going to paint, though. I wanted to do something that stood out, but I didn’t have any ideas. After having an epiphany in the shower one morning, it crossed my mind that I could “flick” paint with my fingers and create portraits that way. I created a sample painting as a test, posted it to Facebook, and I received three commissions that day. I continued doing that Splatter Paint style for four years…and I was planning on doing that when I quit my full-time job. However, about the same time I was leaving my full-time job, I decided to make a few trips to downtown Dallas to paint in the park. It was just for fun…something I wanted to do for myself. I’ve always enjoyed architecture, so that’s what I painted. I used a paintbrush like a “normal” artist, because I wanted to take a break from the Splatter Paintings I had been doing. But when I posted those architectural paintings to Facebook, they received a lot of interest…even more than the Splatter Paintings. So, I figured: If I like painting them, and people like buying them, then there’s no reason I shouldn’t continue! For me, the painting is easy; what’s difficult is the business. I have absolutely NO innate business sense, so I realized I was going to have to teach myself…and that I would probably have a hard time with that. And I was right. I don’t consider myself to be a huge risk-taker, and this sort of endeavor is a pretty big risk. Remember: The profession of Artist is the only one in the world that’s synonymous with “starving”, so I knew from the get-go that it would be difficult for me to make a living doing this full time. But I also knew it wasn’t impossible, so that was pretty much all the reasoning I needed to talk myself into moving forward! Probably the most important thing I learned that really helped me was to understand that nobody else is responsible for my success or failure. That was actually a tough one for me because I think I always sort of believed that my success would come if everybody else did what [I thought] they were “supposed” to do. That means the Economy would have to be good, the Art Market would have to be good, and the community would have to be willing to “support struggling artists”. But the truth is that if I want to enjoy any success at all, I’m going to have to figure out how to do it even when the world isn’t cooperating with my dream. My approach to that is to put a lot of effort into finding MY audience. This means that I paint what *I* want to paint, and then do whatever I must to find the audience who appreciates it. In other words, I don’t simply create my art and hope that customers find me — that would be putting the burden on the world to support me. Instead, I feel that it’s MY job to take on that burden of introducing my work to the world…if I’m going to find my audience. That requires me think in a way that I’m not used to, and it’s a big part of that ninety percent I was talking about.  About a year ago, I signed on with a business coach who has a very good program, and he’s helping me figure out which ideas work, and which don’t. To be honest, the most exciting part about my job is not the painting itself, but it’s having the crippling fear that I’m going to fail spectacularly…and then overcoming it: First overcoming the fear, and then overcoming the failure. And by the way, that’s not just a one-time thing. It’s been five years, and I’m only just now getting comfortable with the paralyzing uncertainty that comes with being a full-time artist. I’ve come to love the challenge.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
To be honest, I’ve been a bit of a recluse these past five years, so I haven’t gotten out much myself. My favorite things about Dallas are the McKinney Avenue Trolley, Klyde Warren Park, and the Katy Trail. When I take people around town, my idea of fun is to tell the history of all the buildings.  

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
The Facebook Community has been really good to me — sharing my posts and buying my artwork. The Williams-Sonoma stores, particularly West Elm and Pottery Barn, have invited me to do live painting in their stores more times than I can remember. And most recently, my business coach, Dale Wolter of ActionCOACH, who meets with me every week to help me figure out my approach to the Art Business.

Website: www.EricHansonArtwork.com
Instagram: www.instagram.com/EricHansonArtwork
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EricHansonArtwork
Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmcbdvOw25lFDVNLjjArkGQ