The World of Coca-Cola Meets a World Dipped In Color

Jeff Hanson’s ties to Coca-Cola are deep, loyal and, now it seems, serendipitous.

When he opened an IRA at age 14, the first stock he purchased was Coca-Cola. As a teenager, he started refusing to eat at restaurants that didn’t serve Coke products. And he counts among his friends Warren Buffett, the legendary investor and former Coca-Cola board member who also owns shares of KO, albeit on a slightly larger scale.

So it’s hardly surprising that Hanson once again finds himself intertwined with Coca-Cola. At age 22, the nationally known artist recently was commissioned to create an original work of art that will help raise funds for Ronald McDonald House in the U.S. and Canada.

Hanson – a visually impaired, self-taught artist who learned to paint at age 12 as a way to lift his spirits – is the 2016Coca-Cola Ronald McDonald House Charities Art Partner. At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis that caused an optic nerve tumor and threatened to leave him totally blind. He underwent five months of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation. He survived but his vision was forever marred.

Painting, Hanson says, “was a germfree activity I could enjoy with friends and family at the house.”

“It was a good way for me to keep my mind off what I was going through,” he adds.

Hanson began to paint watercolors on note cards and sell them from a card table in his driveway. Much to his surprise, his artwork was extremely popular. He eventually raised $15,000, then did something few others would: he donated all his profits to the Children’s Tumor Foundation to help research his diagnosis.

He eventually graduated from note cards to beautiful acrylic art on canvas that is regularly auctioned at charity events for as much as $20,000 apiece. To date, Hanson has helped raise more than $2 million for more than 150 charities worldwide.

Additionally, his art has been featured as the paint scheme on Porsche, Audi and Mustang racecars at the ROLEX 24 at Daytona and other races across the country. His artwork can also be found hanging in celebrity homes, including Buffett, who befriended Hanson after receiving a letter from him. He replied with a handwritten invitation to the 2010 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting – a now-famous event that regularly draws hoards of Buffett fans and media to Omaha