"Some people climb rocks; some paint them. Fine artist Erin Hanson does both. She started with giant murals as a teenager and eventually moved on to the rocks. She started climbing them with friends and then painting them in Utah and then later in Nevada and California.

"And she does it all with an energy and fascination that imbues the observer with the feeling that it was not only a real place that we may recognize, but a real place that we too might like to see.

"Recently she is applying her talent and skills to the giant rocks and the wide open spaces in Joshua Tree National Park. 'I find it so exhilarating… so much to see, so much to paint!'

"Hanson goes on to say that every time she looks there is so much more to do. 'I’ll never have enough time to see it all, let alone paint it… but I can try.

"Those places she has found to include in her paintings can be viewed at the Desert Arts Festival this weekend in Francis Stevens Park in Palm Springs. The festival opens at 10 a.m. Saturday Morning, Jan. 29.

"Hanson says she paints because she feels this is the right life for her. She paints at the festivals where everyone can see what it is she does and how easy she makes it look. That’s skill and talent."

Desert Entertainer article by John Weidenhamer