Born in Bremerton, Washington and raised in rural Wyoming, Ann Hanson has a life-long love of western life, which she depicts in her oil and pastel painting. She attended Northwest College in Powell, Wyoming.

She lives with her husband, Steve, overlooking the Trapper Creek Valley near Shell, Wyoming. At first she worked primarily with pastels because, raising a family, she needed the flexibility to leave and return to her work, but once the family was raised, she changed to oil which she usually paints on gesso hardwood. She uses a camera to record her images and carefully plans her work.

In 1990, she won the W.E. Weiss Purchase Award....