Napoleon Hill once said, “Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” And in Brit Hansen’s case, persevering through the continuous effort and struggle also led to developing a unique art form that brings her deep peace and fulfillment. Not to mention, the sense of calm it brings to anyone viewing her art.

Despite her commitment to finding a way to create art from carving layers of acrylic paint, Brit actually didn’t initially intend to become a career artist. She thought she’d pursue math or science in college, but an art class would quickly change her mind. She eventually found her way to block printing and took to it immediately.

For many years, block printing was her creative outlet, but she started to realize that while she loved the carving process, she didn’t care for the printing part. Brit began to explore what else she could do with this knack for carving.

“I just loved carving,” she said. “So, that got me experimenting with carving all sorts of things––wax, clay, wood. I was carving wood for a while and painting it back in. But the problem with that is that I also don’t love painting, and this felt like twice the process. So, that’s what got me thinking, ‘If I could just carve paint, then it’d be done.’”

Eventually, Brit cracked the code and a new art form was born!

In this interview, Brit shares her process and what she finds most rewarding about creating it.

Q&A with Brit:

When did you know art was your calling?

I’ve always loved art. I grew up my father being a jeweler. I’m a fourth generation artist and I always had art in my life. I used to go to art shows with him and I never really considered myself an artist until about college when I discovered carving and painting, and found my own voice of what I wanted to create. And then when I had my daughter, it really came together and I felt like then I knew what my style was.

How has your creative journey evolved?

My work has evolved so much over the last three years, especially being here at the Celebration, but definitely over the last 10. I worked as a block printer originally. So I did a lot of botanicals and I would do wood carvings and lino cuts and then ink them. It’s an ancient process of block printing, but I didn’t like the printing part very much. I love carving and so that made me start to experiment.

I wanted to carve wax and wood and clay, but they all have different delicate qualities and I love color. So it really got me thinking, I wonder if I could carve paint. And then I felt like my whole world opened up as soon as I discovered I could get it to work after lots of trial and error. And I’m still evolving. Especially being at the Celebration––all the creativit. My backgrounds have changed with more texture and I’ve incorporated a lot more painting techniques and I really love the direction that it’s going.

How did you push through the challenges to find your unique style?

As I was working as a block printer, there were definitely times when I was like, “This is so hard doing the paint.” I had buckets of paint all over my house and studio and trying to experiment with the thickness that it needed to be and drying time and having so many problems. I was always searching for others that might be doing this to see if it was even possible. I found some abstract painters who were just chipping away at paint on walls and things like that. So I knew it was possible. It’s not the way that I’m envisioning that I want to do it, but somehow I’ve got to make this work. And I would have an idea for a piece and think, “Someday! I’m just going to stick with it.” And I’m glad that I was persistent.

What has been the most meaningful response to your work?

My favorite response is when people come in and say that my work is so peaceful. That is my absolute favorite because I love creating pieces that are bold and a statement and lots of color, but then I still want them to feel really peaceful. I still want that combination of having a statement piece in your home, but still feeling a sense of calm. I feel like the whole process of carving is so relaxing and almost meditative to me that I get into the zone and I’m just able to carve and feel that sense of peace. I want others to feel that as well.

What do you love most about the creative process?

My work is so controlled and so planned, but I love that I have a lot of different steps to my process. I first start with sketching it out or coming up with an idea, sketching it out, and then that evolves into then choosing my colors, and layering. Then when I do my background and I get to play––play more with the colors and the abstract of what’s going to be the background of the piece. So there’s this mix of it being very planned and controlled and a little element of getting to play and experiment. To then, the end piece is mostly what I had planned, but then there’s little elements of surprises.

What challenges you the most?

Horses are always really challenging. Animals are always really challenging because I take a lot less creative liberties with them. I really want them to look realistic and so I spend a lot of time trying to figure out what colors I need to layer and how the muscles are and shadows. With plants and flowers, I can take a lot more artistic liberties because no one’s going to walk up to it and say, “That should be a little different when with a horse it’s very recognizable.”

There was a horse piece that I did at the beginning of the year that had three horses. It was a dream piece that I had wanted to make for a long time and I was so happy that it finally came to life.

What brings you back to the Celebration of Fine Art?

Celebration of Fine Art is my happy place for sure. It’s not only my happy place, but my kids and my husband’s happy place, too. They love it here. My daughter comes in and goes to see all of her friends and gets to create. My son does little jobs and helps. They both feel the love and creativity here. It really is like a place where we can grow. It really is like a family here. So, not only has it helped so much in being able to succeed in my career and how grateful I am that I can do this to support my family, but also that it can be a part of our lives as part of our community.