CREATING LIGHT IN THE WORLD

Artist Ashley Hahn infuses emotion into her work

Written by Becca Edwards | Photographed by Ruthe Ritterbeck

Faith, light and shadow. These three words inspire artist Ashley Hahn.

“I have lived in the Lowcountry for over 40 years,” she said. “Obviously we live in a beautiful place. The tropical colors are astounding. God’s beauty is all around us. There is so much to capture here and to do that I feel drawn to my faith and the use of light and shadow.”

Hahn says that life is made up of light and dark moments, and sometimes “we have to see the dark to appreciate the light.”

“With art we can create light in this world. Ultimately, this is what I hope to accomplish with my work,” said Hahn, who lives in Bluffton.

Many people follow Hahn on social media for this very reason. Whether it is a charcoal portrait of a smiling child, or a watercolor of an indigenous bird, or an oil painting of an oyster, Hahn’s work expresses emotions like joy.

To do this, Hahn says she focuses on the true essence of the subject.

“In portraiture, for example, I always begin with the subject’s eyes. The eyes are my favorite to draw or paint. They create the mood of the piece, and then I work around it,” she said.

When Hahn chooses elements in nature like birds and crabs, the essence of the subject matter is often the blending, mixture and depth of colors.

“I am always walking around and noticing things in nature and thinking, ‘How could I recreate that color? How could I also go beyond what the surface looks like and dive deeper and make the colors more pronounced to more celebrate the subject?’”

Continuing in a spiritual direction Hahn added, “I am so grateful to live in the Lowcountry. Light illuminates the beauty God has created. I want my work to reflect His light as well as the light of emotion.”