Stories Worth Telling- Kim Hannan Solo Exhibition – GALLERY 2

“Stories Worth Telling” — Solo Exhibition by Kim Hannan

The East County Art Association is proud to present Stories Worth Telling, a solo exhibition by fine art photographer and painter Kim Hannan, running July 1–31 at the Main ECAA Gallery 2.

This exhibition brings together two bodies of work united by a single conviction: that the most meaningful art begins with a story worth preserving. Hannan’s Natura Collection, conservation-inspired works drawn from wildlife, botanicals, and travel, opens with photography captured in nature’s most protected places and is transformed through her signature mixed-media process of oils, chalks, pastels, photographic elements and watercolor into pieces that are at once luminous and enduring. Alongside these works, landscapes from across America and travels abroad expand the collection’s sense of place — from sweeping domestic vistas to the textures and light of international destinations, each rendered with the same painterly depth that defines her practice. A curated grouping of portrait paintings from her Masterpiece Collection rounds out the exhibition, inviting viewers into deeply personal narratives built around meaningful objects and the quiet dignity of a life well lived.

Together, these collections reflect the thread that runs through all of Hannan’s work: the belief that whether the subject is a crane in a wetland, a sun-drenched hillside in Tuscany, or a beloved face, art exists to honor what matters most and pass it forward.

The exhibition will feature two special events:

• Opening Reception: July 3, 5-7pm at the Main ECAA Gallery 2, East County Art Association (ECAA), 124 E Main St, El Cajon

About the Artist:  Kim Hannan holds a Bachelor of Social Science from Troy University, grounded by four formative years of study at the University of Kentucky School of Fine Arts, where she trained in piano, voice, and theatrical design. In her mid-forties, she apprenticed alongside fine art portraitists, developing a signature mixed-media process that layers oils, chalks, pastels, and watercolor to create works that blend hyperrealism with impressionistic depth. Her perspective was shaped by years of travel as a Navy wife, a life of movement that deepened her eye for place, presence, and the stories that endure. Her Natura Collection follows conservation photography from the field to the canvas; her Masterpiece Collection transforms meaningful objects and personal legacy into heirloom portraiture. In all her work, Hannan creates for the spaces, and the lives, where stories continue to unfold.