One of our illustrious members of the Highlands Art League (HAL) sat with us this week to give us peek behind the decades of art and influences in her life. Alice Hansen, 97 years young, has been a member of HAL since its infancy. This nature-inspired artist has has dabbled in many different mediums: oils, acrylics, pencils…. But her favorite is watercolors.  Her style is strongly influenced by romantic stylings of John Singer Sargent and Van Gogh but appreciates the complexities of the artists of the Surrealist movement. Her Impressionistic/Realism artwork has been accepted multiple times by the Florida Watercolor Society (https://floridawatercolorsociety.org/). FWS is one of the most inclusive organizations of its kind with national implications.

Alice’s love of art started during WWII, when she attended Stevens College in Columbia, MO. Between her freshman and sophomore years, she attended the Abbot Art School in Washington, D.C. Her art education was rounded out with her attendance at the prestigious Rollins College in Winter Park, FL, and has continued her art education with various workshops.  

From their former house on Little Gasparilla Island, Alice and her husband would enjoy the local wildlife and foliage of the island. Her husband, who was an avid fisherman, influenced her subject matter greatly.  Her most requested subject matter is fish.  And she loves creating them…along with sunsets and landscapes.  She likes create her works either by plein air painting or by a picture in her home studio.

Alice was a constant participant on the art festival circuit doing up to 8-10 festivals a year but has that pace slowed down and now has regular displays of her artwork and gift cards at the Members’ Gallery and Exhibitions at the Museum of the Arts and Highlands Art League in Sebring, FL.