Do This, But Bigger

UNC Asheville alumna builds a full-time art career

By UNC Asheville

February 13^th, 2023

Hannah Bunzey has been making art for as long as she could remember, but it wasn’t until recently that she transitioned into a full-time artist. The push to do so, for the North Carolina native and UNC Asheville alumna, came in the form of a contest win.

Bunzey was aware of the Pabst Blue Ribbon Art Can Contest — and even knew artists who had won — but she’d never entered. Last year, a friend from high school reached out to Bunzey and said, “Hey you should really do this.”

She did, and she was one of 10 artists whose work was selected for PBR designs.

“It’s really cool to see it printed on the cans,” Bunzey says. Even better, she adds, is to order a PRB in a bar and be handed a can with her own artwork on it. The design is rendered in blue and white rather than Bunzey’s usual vivid color palette, which she says was a fun challenge and, “I think it looks really nice and clean.”

She adds, “That’s [something] for art students to think about: Later, when you’re working with brands, they might want you to do your style but hone it to their style or keep it within a certain parameter. I think that’s a good exercise, in general, for artists to try once in a while."

“They were like, go home and do this, but bigger,” Bunzey remembers. “And I kind of went crazy with it.”

The art that most resonates

While working toward a BFA at UNC Asheville, Bunzey focused on classical techniques and kept her colorful work to herself. “The painting skills translate a lot in what I do now in terms of color theory, perspective, and all of the technical things I learned [and now] apply to a more magical, fantasy style,” she says.

But Bunzey struggled to pinpoint her creative voice in college. While planning a solo exhibition for her senior year, her instructors asked her what she did for fun. When Bunzey showed them her sketchbooks, filled with bold and whimsical images inspired by nature, music, and children’s books, she was encouraged to pursue that direction.

“They were like, go home and do this, but bigger,” Bunzey remembers. “And I kind of went crazy with it.” Her final exhibition became an entire show of marker drawings, which she describes as “crazy, but awesome,” and she’s been dedicated to that style of art ever since.

For the last five or six years, Bunzey has been working toward the goal of making art full time. Thanks to the cash winnings from the PBR can contest, she was able to invest in her business and leave a part-time job. The focus on creative work has also allowed Bunzey time to present online talks and answer questions for up-and-coming artists.

One question she gets a lot is about creative block. “I like to have multiple pieces going at once,” she says. Completing a small drawing and then coming back to a bigger piece is helpful, so is doing a sketch per day in a small sketchbook. This leads to a pool of ideas when she’s feeling uninspired.

Advice that Bunzey wishes she’d received as a younger artist is, “to make a lot of art in whatever style resonates with you the most,” she says. And, to share that work with as many people as possible. That exposure, Bunzey points out — though initially intimidating — is where customers come from.