From Canvas to Collector: The Making of an Unrepeatable Painting

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There’s a kind of violence in making something beautiful.

"A Study of Light in the Absence of Hope" oil on canvas panel Copright 2025 J.E. Hannum

This 11x14 contemporary abstract realism oil painting—, if you need to categorize it—titled "A Study of Light in the Absence of Hope" was born in a place between control and chaos. That tightrope. That nerve. The bit where your hand doesn’t quite obey your mind. That’s where this came from.

I didn’t intend on making this. It made itself. As with most of my paintings, I never plan anything, no sketch. Why would I need to sketch it out when it's already there. Similar to Michelangelo's sculptures "I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free". The face of the figure was already there, it just had to happen only at that particular time. It couldn't have happened at any other time. That's the beauty in it. Just like you and I, there is only one original available on this earth.

There’s a face. Or half of one. The rest is colorful distorted memories, trauma, and truth bent by time or guilt. It’s not about seeing clearly. It’s about feeling what’s real.

People always ask: “What does it mean?”It means what you’re afraid to admit when you wake up at 3AM and stare into the ceiling fan. It means you’re still alive, even when you’re numb. It means art isn’t decoration. It’s a confrontation.

I used oil because it will last longer than all of us. I kept it small—11x14—because intimacy is more dangerous than grandeur. You can hang it in your hallway or your bedroom, but it will outlive your comfort.

Some paintings are polite.This one isn’t. As a matter of fact, none of my paintings are polite. They will make you question, question everything.

Collectors won’t buy this to match the curtains. They’ll buy it because it’s a mirror. A cracked one. And they’ll keep coming back to it, like a wound they can’t help touching.

There is only one original like this in the world — because it had to be made in one breath, at one moment, by one hand.

If you collect art not just for beauty but for depth, disruption, and permanence — I invite you to explore more of my original oil paintings at hannumfineart.com. Each piece is unrepeatable. Honest. And built to last.

They’re not polite. But neither is truth.

Explore the full collection of original works.

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