“I’ve always been interested in making records of ethereal experiences. My latest project ‘2 Years of Bluto’ is a record of me learning how to paint as I was never formally trained and learning how to forgive. The subject matter, Popeye’s nemesis, Bluto, is often thought of a Bad Guy’ as was my aggressive, angry and long deceased dad. So spending 2 years painting this cartoon character over and over turned into a way to meditate on my dad’s dual nature as good and bad as well as my own. I learned how to forgive, and that took a big burden off of me and allowed me to believe in my ability to take risks as a painter, to keep pushing, a quality I learned from my Dad. A major element of the Bluto work is forgiveness, another ethereal experience.

My latest project ‘2 Years of Bluto’ at the Marlborough Contemporary NYC February and March of 2019 was my 11th solo show and my 2nd all painting show, In the past two years this obsession with good and bad has been the fuel to hone my talents as a painter and my ability to forgive as a human. - Erik Hanson