Ashley Hanson was awarded The Slade School of Art Boise Travel Scholarship to North America, where he made a series of train journeys around the states before painting for two months in a barn in upstate New York, at the home of the sculptor Jon Isherwood.
Hanson has continued making work about his experiences in the US, with the series Americascapes and The Englands, which enabled him to interlink paintings inspired by the coastal landscapes of Cornwall and New England.
Various events in Hanson's career have inspired, influenced and invigorated his interest in colour: An early admiration for the work of Peter Lanyon, especially Porthleven 1951; A lecture from Terry Frost whilst at Canterbury College of Art; The influence of Thomas Watt being Principal of Canterbury; A visit to the 1992 Matisse exhibition in New York and later his time spent at the Triangle Artists Workshop hosted by Sir Anthony Caro.
Born Blackpool England
1979-80 Blackpool and The Fylde College Foundation Course
1977-1978 Dept. of Architecture, Manchester University
1980-83 Canterbury College of Art BA FineArt.1st.
2007-11 Visiting lecturer at Canterbury Christchurch University
2008 Resident Artist Bodmin College Cornwall
2009-10 Visiting Lecturer at Bergen National Academy of the Arts Norway
2009 Artist Talk and Workshop Canford School, Dorset
Award
1997 Boise Travel Scholarship to North America, Slade School of Art
1991 Hunting Art Prize 2nd Prize
2012 Canvas & Cream Joint Prizewinner
Collections
Lord Gowrie The Street
Private collections in UK, Europe and America
Solo Exhibition
2014 Solo Exhibition Modern Artists Gallery UK
2013 Solo Exhibition Modern Artists Gallery UK
2012 Colour & Coast Hotel Penzance Cornwall
2011 Transatlantic Hotel Penzance Cornwall
2010 Transatlantic University of Kent Canterbury
2008 The Englands Modern Artists Gallery UK
2007 States of Colour Shire Hall Gallery Cornwall
2003 Americascapes Quay Arts Isle of Wight
Group Show
2012 Canvas & Cream Art Prize London
2012 Great Atlantic Gallery Falmouth
2012 Modern Artist Gallery UK
2012 Redearth Gallery Devon
2012 Canvas & Cream Art Prize Exhibition London
2011 Great Atlantic Gallery Falmouth and St Just
2011 The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition London
The making of: City of Glass 34 Watch that man 120x100cm (sold)
I have redrawn the left-side of face again & also added a very subtle line of the chin. There is a definite twist to the face now, less flat. I am enjoying the composition - how the West Side follows the angle of the face and how the bulge of Chelsea is echoed by the left ear. Two more City of Glass paintings on the go now, one I started a while ago, the other with the working title 'Village Green'.
A few subtle changes to the Bowie outline- it now seems more varied, more interesting and truer to the image. I also added a couple of small piers on the West Side to disrupt the verticals. Listening to Young Americans. The intersection of 5th Ave and 14th St is very powerful, an unintended piece of symbolism. This painting is right on the edge.
A tribute to David Bowie, a hero...the iconic outline of Aladdin Sane becomes the framing rivers of Manhattan. The outline is not quite right, it's a little crude,a little obvious. I may re-draw tomorrow.Or not.
Choosing the title for the piece was very difficult but critical- some were obvious, others more subtle: 'Hero', 'Starman', '285 Lafayette St', '(1913-1938-197?)', 'Millions weep a fountain..'.
I've gone for 'Watch that man...' with it's dual reference: we were all watching Bowie, wondering what he would do next.
The novel 'City of Glass' is all about watching that man...
'Watch That Man' is, of course, the opening track of Aladdin Sane..
Emotion, image, place, ambiguity - no-one was more ambiguous than David Bowie. 'Ambiguous' comes a close second as a title...
Saddleback Ledge Light - Oil on canvas 10x12ins / . £950.00
Saddleback Ledge Light is a lighthouse on Saddleback Ledge, an islet lying between Isle au Haut and Vinalhaven, Maine, in the middle of the southeastern entrance to Penobscot Bay. The station was established and the current structure, designed by Alexander Parris, was built in 1839. One of Maine's oldest lighthouses, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Saddleback Ledge Light Station on March 14, 1988.
Two Bush Island Lighthouse 25x36cm Oil on canvas £950.
City of Glass 21 Nowhere 160x100cm
Oil on canvas
P.O.A
City of Glass 7 The Black Tower
Oil on canvas P.O.A.
Banjo Pier - 40x30cm Oil on canvas £1,100
Echoing the submerged imagery in Lanyon's work and his alleged discovery of the two figures in 'Porthleven' after the painting was completed, only today did I see the tilted head, shoulder and forearm resting on the bottom edge...or a gestural line encapsulating movement?...or skywriting, vapour trail?. Spacial ambiguities: the view from the ground or the air?..if there is a 'view'...Abstract/figurative - who cares? Peter Lanyon was right to fight against putting art into boxes. It's a painting: both from an outside experience and the thrills and uncertainties of the painting process. What am I looking at? - this is my territory as an artist. A.H.
California Zephyr
222x60cm oil on canvas price on application
City of Glass 27 The Stillman Apartment
200 x 60 cm with roof/160 x 60cm
Oil on canvas
City of Glass 60 (Island of Bricks) 80 x 70 cm
Oil on canvas Shortlisted for Wells Art Contemporary
City of Glass 58 (Noir)
P.O.A.120 x 80 cm oil on canvas
City of Glass 34 Watch That Man * Tribute to David Bowie -sold
20x100cm
City of Glass 36 the Force of Chance -120 x 100 cm
oil on canvas price on application
City of Glass 3 The Window - 150 x 120 cm
Oil on canvas p.o.a.
City of Glass 5 Truthville-100 x 70 cm
Oil on canvas
City of Glass 14 Dialogue -120 x 80 cm
P.o.a Oil on canvas
City of Glass 18 Mystery
80 x 40 cm Oil on canvas
City of Glass 22 Cleave the Fall 120 x 100
Oil on canvas
City of Glass 23 Cleave, Stare
120 x 100 cm Oil on canvas
City of Glass 24 Peter
60 x 50 cm Oil on canvas
City of Glass 29 Babylon 100 x 80 cm
Oil on canvas
City of Glass 39 Prophecy
60 x 30 cm Oil on Canvas p.o.a.
City of Glass 41 T.H.E. T.O.W.E.R.O.F.B.A.B.E.L.
Oil on canvas P.O.A.
City of Glass 57 (As the Crow Flies) - 120 x 80 cm
Oil on canvas
Englands - 40 x 50 cm
Price on application - Oil on canvas
