The image above, titled "Alien Encounter," is part of the Astronaut Series by Hogan, in which the astronaut Alice discovers the transcendental values of truth, goodness, and beauty as she explores a variety of landscapes across the Earth.

Ah, that honeymoon feeling of euphoria when you look at a gorgeous work of Aubrey Hogan’s art!

In his home studio, Hogan creates heavy body acrylic paintings in an impasto French post-impressionism style. Impasto refers to a painting technique where paint is laid on a canvas surface in very thick layers, with brush or pallet-knife strokes visible.

The paint can also be mixed right on his 36” x 48” canvases. When dry, impasto provides textures that are raised and can embody a stained glass feel.

Don't worry if you, like me, first fell in love with his wood mosaic work; he still creates those and other custom pieces. You'll have to contact him directly to acquire one of his nature-themed wood mosaics.

"Arches," featured in Aubrey Hogan's National Park series.

Hogan has created two distinct impasto series: one depicting the National Parks, and another focused on Astronauts. In the National Park Series, he paints images of the National Parks. With each image he writes a blessing that takes the best qualities of each park and bestows those good wishes upon the reader.

In the Astronaut Series, the astronaut Alice explores a variety of landscapes across the Earth. Each scene is accompanied by a short story that illustrates the Earth's beauty without humans. Meanwhile, Alice discovers the transcendental values of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Hogan finds joy in sharing stories about his work, even if the story is simply that he has created something beautiful.

The artist travels to prestigious art shows and sells his work across the United States. In winter and early spring, you may find him in some local indoor shows, but he will also travel as far south as Houston, Texas. During the summer Hogan is more likely to be close to home to take part in the many great juried art festivals in the Midwest, including Madsion on the Square, the Edina Art Fair, the 3rd Ward Art Festival in Milwaukee, and more.

After many conversations with artists over the years, Hogan has been asked countless times for his guidance in how to create a profitable art business.

 "Denali," featured in Aubrey Hogan's National Park series.

“I really enjoy talking shop with other artists. l just got off a Zoom call with an artist, and together we looked through her artist’s website," Hogan said. "We improved her product ladder to include small prints, puzzles, calendars, larger prints, up to originals. I remember what it was like to start out with no idea of how to get to a successful art business.”

Hogan is developing an online community of artists, titled the Six Figure Artpreneur, to address these very issues. This community focuses on assisting artists who want to establish sustainable and successful art careers.

You can find more information about the course online.

Selected pieces of his work are hanging at 2 Roots Art & Wine Gallery (216 S Barstow St.) and the Oxbow Hotel (516 Galloway St.) gallery in Eau Claire. Be sure to check back frequently, as he rotates his artwork periodically, ensuring there's always something new and captivating to discover.

Learn more about Aubrey Hogan and the full inventory of his artwork via his website. “Behind the Easel” is a periodic column by Patricia Hawkenson, a visual artist and one of the proprietors of Decadent Gifts & Gallery in Eau Claire.