{"id":2447117,"date":"2019-08-02T22:00:01","date_gmt":"2019-08-03T04:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/accidental-artist-finds-inspiration-in-face-of-adversity\/"},"modified":"2019-08-05T09:04:41","modified_gmt":"2019-08-05T15:04:41","slug":"accidental-artist-finds-inspiration-in-face-of-adversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/local-news\/accidental-artist-finds-inspiration-in-face-of-adversity\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Accidental artist\u2019 finds inspiration in face of adversity"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"swift-gallery p402_hide\" readability=\"6.3234200743494\">\n<ul id=\"imageGallery-310671-545\" class=\"gallery list-unstyled\">\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Photo courtesy | Challenge Aspen Executive Director Jeff Hauser with artist Jeff Hanson\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Challenge Aspen Executive Director Jeff Hauser with artist Jeff Hanson<\/strong><br \/>Photo courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2.jpg\" alt=\"Challenge Aspen Executive Director Jeff Hauser with artist Jeff Hanson\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-1-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"|\" class=\"h-100\">\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-1.jpg\" alt><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-2-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-2.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Photo courtesy | Hal, Julie and Jeff Hanson at Challenge Aspen's fundraising gala on Sunday, July 28.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"9\">\n<p><strong>Hal, Julie and Jeff Hanson at Challenge Aspen&#8217;s fundraising gala on Sunday, July 28.<\/strong><br \/>Photo courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-2.jpg\" alt=\"Hal, Julie and Jeff Hanson at Challenge Aspen's fundraising gala on Sunday, July 28.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li data-thumb=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-3-150x150.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-3.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Photo courtesy | Kechi Okwuchi with Jeff Hanson on Sunday.\" class=\"h-100\" readability=\"-2\">\n<div class=\"caption\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><strong>Kechi Okwuchi with Jeff Hanson on Sunday.<\/strong><br \/>Photo courtesy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row no-gutters h-100\">\n<div class=\"col my-auto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.aspentimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2019\/08\/Hanson-atd-080319-2-3.jpg\" alt=\"Kechi Okwuchi with Jeff Hanson on Sunday.\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"caption-toggle\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/accidental-artist-finds-inspiration-in-face-of-adversity\/#\" class=\"show-captions\">Show Captions<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/accidental-artist-finds-inspiration-in-face-of-adversity\/#\" class=\"hide-captions\">Hide Captions<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText DropCap\">With the 16th annual Challenge Aspen <a id=\"N0x179db60N0x17f47c0:N0x179db60N0x17af7f0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/snowmass\/challenge-aspen-hosts-annual-gala-golf-tournament-in-snowmass\/\">gala and golf classic in the books<\/a>, the inspirational messages from the nonprofit\u2019s guests this past week carry on long after the fundraising is finished.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Kansas City-based artist <a id=\"N0x179db60N0x17f48e0:N0x179db60N0x17af910\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jeffhansonart.com\/?v=7516fd43adaa\">Jeff Hanson<\/a> is one of them. Two of his acrylic paintings sold during the live auction Sunday commanding $38,000.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It was Hanson\u2019s 258th time on stage raising money for charities. The 25-year-old has raised more than $5 million for over 200 nonprofits, and his goal is to raise $10 million by the time he turns 30.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The \u201caccidental artist\u201d stumbled into painting when he was 12 and was undergoing chemotherapy. His parents, Hal and Julie, knew he needed a distraction so he began painting watercolor notecards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Within three years, Hanson started a business with a philanthropy-first model and transitioned into acrylic on canvas, with bold colors and heavily sculptured textures, which has become his signature style.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He calls it a \u201csight for sore eyes\u201d because he is visually impaired. He has been that way since childhood when he developed neurofibromatosis type 1 and an optic chiasm brain tumor, playfully named CLOD by he and his parents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hanson described his eyesight like Swiss cheese \u2014 being able to see through some openings but not all of them. The closer he gets the more he can see.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">He explained onstage to the roomful of Challenge Aspen supporters in the Viceroy before his work was auctioned off that one must look at people\u2019s abilities, not disabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cFocus on what you can do, not what you can\u2019t do,\u201d he said Friday from his home in Kansas City.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">That kind of attitude is exactly what Jeff Hauser, executive director of <a id=\"N0x179db60N0x17f4940:N0x179db60N0x17afe20\" href=\"https:\/\/challengeaspen.org\/mission\/\">Challenge Aspen<\/a>, was hoping to capture in the room that evening.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Snowmass Village-based nonprofit\u2019s mission is to impact lives through year-round adaptive experiences for individuals faced with cognitive and physical disabilities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201c(Jeff) was part of our theme of celebrating people\u2019s abilities, not their disabilities and looking through the disability and find the person,\u201d Hauser said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hanson lives and breathes by his slogan, \u201cDon\u2019t let your CLOD define you!\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">So instead of defining himself as the kid who lost his vision to a brain tumor, Hanson has been defined by art, philanthropy and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">And it all began on a sidewalk in front of his house when he established his curbside business, Jeff\u2019s Bistro, selling baked goods, drinks and notecards.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Proceeds benefited the Children\u2019s Tumor Foundation to fund optic tumor research.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">At the time, his parents didn\u2019t put too much thought into their son\u2019s artwork, but it obviously became clear later that he had a natural gift.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cIt was just a distraction\u201d to the chemotherapy, Hal said. \u201cIt was nothing, and we thought it was done and then when he turned 19 and he had donated $1 million to charities it hit me on the head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Now it\u2019s a family business. Hal, a former emergency room physician, and Julie, a stay-at-home mom who worked in fashion merchandising and marketing, now work for Jeff and his company, Jeffrey Owen Hanson LLC.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">His private works command anywhere between $2,900 and $14,000, and are mostly inspired by travel.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe wanted to show Jeff the world before he went blind,\u201d Hal said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Hanson family photographs places they travel, magnify the image on a computer and Jeff paints his interpretation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Some of his paintings now hang in the homes of art collectors across the globe, including Sir Elton John, Warren E. Buffett and Dale Earnhardt Jr.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">The Hanson family also does motivational speaking around the country, sharing their journey through adversity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe didn\u2019t know what journey we were on at the beginning,\u201d Hal said. \u201cThe journey is fun because it inspires others.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">In 2013, Hal published a book called \u201cLessons from Clod\u201d that takes the reader through the Hansons\u2019 lives as parents before the tumor, and how they coped with it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">It\u2019s a story of how a sick boy was transformed into an artist and how he found his identity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">Hauser said participants like Hanson and Sunday night\u2019s gala keynote speaker, <a id=\"N0x179db60N0x17f4b80:N0x179db60N0x17b08d0\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bustle.com\/p\/who-is-kechi-okwuchi-the-americas-got-talent-contestant-is-a-singer-survivor-64277\">Kechi Okwuchi<\/a>, who is a plane crash survivor and a former finalist on \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent,\u201d embody the mission of Challenge Aspen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText\">\u201cWe wanted to celebrate the spirit of these participants who face adversity but come out on the other side still adventurous and positive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"STND-STND BodyText Tagline\"><a href=\"mailto:csackariason@aspentimes.com\">csackariason@aspentimes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspentimes.com\/news\/local\/accidental-artist-finds-inspiration-in-face-of-adversity\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: The Aspen Times<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Challenge Aspen Executive Director Jeff Hauser with artist Jeff HansonPhoto courtesy Hal, Julie and Jeff Hanson at Challenge Aspen&#8217;s fundraising gala on Sunday, July 28.Photo courtesy Kechi Okwuchi with Jeff Hanson on Sunday.Photo courtesy Show CaptionsHide Captions With the 16th annual Challenge Aspen gala and golf classic in the books, the inspirational messages from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2447117","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-24 09:22:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSPN The Valley&#039;s Quality Rock","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2447117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2447163,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2447117\/revisions\/2447163"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2447117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2447117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kspn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2447117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}