Artist Hannah Jensen Reveals Magic in Carving Paint

Christchurch-based artist Hannah Jensen speaks to Forbes contributor Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle about painting in reverse, where all the layers of paint are applied first, then carved to reveal what’s in her heart.

“After carving on wood, how did the idea first come to you in 2003 (by accident) to carve into paint?” Mun-Delsalle asks.

“My first paint carvings were shallow into the white paint for highlights and deeper into the wood for shadows – they were quite amazing,” Jensen explains. “One very blunt tool by the end of it, I had no idea how to sharpen it or that I could buy handles that had changeable heads, but I knew I would return the following and final year of university to experiment with this technique. And that is what I did, like a mad scientist, trying every combination of layering I could. This recipe is still very similar to what I use today.”

Original article by Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes, November 20, 2022.

Photo by Petra Mingneau.