Pouring Her Art Out

By Megan Looney / Portrait by Sara Norris

In 2012, Hannah Rowan ditched the Big Apple, moving to America’s Finest to pursue her passion for painting. Today, she tends bar part-time at The Local Pacific Beach, where, she says, the folks she meets while making drinks inspire her.

“I constantly meet people that fuel my motivation,” she says. “Learning about others’ experiences, struggles and triumphs - and learning how to read all different types of people - definitely influences my work.”

Rowan says she likes to create a sense of “chaos and chance” in her work, often trying to challenge viewers’ perception of sexuality by distorting the female form in her paintings.

“One time, I had my art hanging at an art festival, and this mom quickly grabbed her son away from looking at my work, as if I were showing a porno,” Rowan says. “Little did she know that the rise I got out of her was one of the best unspoken compliments I have ever received.”

Rowan, who plans to attend San Diego State University next year to become an art teacher, sells her originals and prints (and cellphone cases emblazoned with her creations) on her website, HannahRowanArt.com.

Follow Rowan on Instagram (@ HannaRowanArt) or sidle up to the oceanview bar at The Local P.B. and perhaps inspire her next work of art, turning the tables on the concept of “under the influence.”

The Local Pacific Beach
809 Thomas Ave., Pacific Beach
858.263.7475, thelocalpb.com