Brit Hansen is a fourth generation artist living in the Painted Desert region of Arizona with her husband and two children. She studied at Arizona State University where she earned her BFA in 2010 and after worked as a photographer for 8 years traveling the world. She started block printing while on bed rest with her first child and hung up her camera for good. She still makes block prints occasionally but her passion lies with carving. This lead her to experiment with carving various mediums and discovered she could layer acrylic paint until it was thick enough to carve. This opened a world possibilities of art she could create full of color and texture inspired by the desert and the culture of the West.
She has had her artwork featured in Art Intersection and exhibited in many art shows across the West including Beverly Hills Art Show where she won First Place in 2019 and Utah Arts Festival she was awarded the Board of Directors Award. She has also exhibited in Scottsdale, Tucson, Salt Lake City, Montana, Texas and New Mexico.
Statement
The colors and textures I am able to combine through carving inspires me to create artwork that shows the beauty of the desert. It is a harsh environment with resilient plants and creatures thriving. Being a desert native I see myself as something that thrives off this harsh landscape and I can recognize how beautiful it really is.
In this collection, I wanted to play with color and make the desert vibrant with a little whimsy. I left out spines and instead focused on the bright flowers and delicate petals that cover cacti during the short Spring season in the Sonoran Desert.