About Phil Hanson

I am a self-taught New Zealand artist specialising in highly detailed oil paintings inspired by the landscapes, roads and changing light of Aotearoa.

My work is driven by a fascination with the way light can transform an otherwise familiar landscape. A bend in a rural road, a distant mountain range or a fleeting shift in weather can completely change the character of a place. I look for those moments and use them as the starting point for paintings that sit somewhere between careful observation and the atmosphere of memory.

Working primarily from my own photography, I take considerable care in selecting and composing each scene before translating it onto canvas. Detail, depth and strong contrasts of light and shadow are central to my approach, whether the subject is a vast South Island landscape or a quieter scene from elsewhere in New Zealand.

Although I am particularly drawn to the dramatic landscapes of the South Island, my work extends across New Zealand. I am continually looking for new places, different conditions and those fleeting combinations of landscape and light that make a scene worth painting.

I have exhibited in New Zealand and South Africa, and my work is held in private collections in New Zealand and internationally. I am also available for commissions, working with collectors to create paintings of landscapes and places that have a particular personal significance.