Scott Hartley Watercolors
Alley with open Door 48 by 67 $15000.00
Artist Statement
In my watercolors, I strive for a painterly yet realistic rendition of my subjects, hoping to make use of the transparent beauty of watercolors as they are applied to the surface of paper using the flow of water. Reserving the white of the paper to represent the lightest values of the subject requires careful planning. I spend much time manipulating the shapes and light and dark values in small pre studies, until I feel I have achieved a most expressive composition. Then, after making a careful outline drawing of all of the elements of the picture on fine watercolor paper, I apply paint, with respect for how the pigments, carried by water, work together with each other and the suface of the paper.
Resume
I have studied the work of many paintings and artist teachers, having painted watercolors since I was in high school. I first became inspired by my grandfather, watercolor artist Leslie Austin Hartley, who was born and raised in England where he learned to paint watercolor landscapes there while he was at a boys boarding school. Although my formal training was in music at the University of Michigan, I decided to make my avocation of painting a profession and I began attending art festivals nationwide with my watercolors. To acquire further knowledge, I attended workshops by Sondra Freckleton, Nita Engle and Tom Lynch as well as studying the books of John Pike, Daniel Chard, Ted Kautsky, Edgar Whitney and David Friend, to name a few, and the paintings of Robert Cottingham, Neill Welliver, Fairfield Porter and Charles Sheeler. Growing up in the Catskills of New York, and now in the Ann Arbor Michigan area, I developed an eye for our unique American landscape and seek to capture the rich, colorful, impressive, complex and intriguing views of the common subjects all around us.
Selected National
Art Festivals
Cherry Creek Art Fair, Denver,Co, First Place Painting 1998
Ann Arbor Street Art Fair, The Original, Artist demonstrator in Watercolor for twenty years, Award of Excellence and
Originality, 2010.
The Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
The St. Louis Art Fair, St. Louis, MO
Walt Disney World Festival of the Masters, Florida, 1st Place in Watercolor Category, 2006, 2012, 2013
Winter Park Sidewalk Art Fair, Winter Park, Florida, 2nd Place Award, Watercolor
Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival, Reston, VA, 1st Place Award in Fine Arts Category 2007
Coconut Grove Fine Art Festival, Miami, Florida
Old Town Art Festival, Chicago
Port Clinton Art Festival, Chicago, 1st Place Award. Watercolor Category
Great Gulfcoast Art Festival, Pensacola, Florida, 2nd Place in Painting Category, 2002, 2007, Award of Honor, 2008, Judges Award, 2009, Merit Award, 2010, First Place Award of Distinction, 2011, Award of distinction, 2017, 2018, 2019
Mainsail Arts Festival, St. Petersburg, Florida, Award of Excellence 2007, Best of Show, 2011, Award of Distinction, 2012, Award of Excellence 2013,
Award of Excellence, 2014, 2nd place Silver Award, 2015 Award of excellence, 2016, 2017, 2018 Best of Show 2022
Kalamazoo Institute of Arts Fine Art Fair, 2nd Place over all, 2006, First Place/Best of Show, 2010, First Place/Best of Show, 2011, Award of Excellence, 2012, First Place/Best of Show, 2013
Tall Grass Art Fair, Chicago, 1st Place, Painting
Brighton Art Festival, Brighton, Mich., 2nd Place overall 2006, 1st place, 2007, 2008
Suttons Bay Art Fair, Suttons Bay, Mich., Best in Show, 2007 best of show 2022
Northville, Mich, Art in the Sun, Best of Show, 2008
Naples Art Festival, Naples, Fla, Award of Excellence, 2008
Gasparilla Sidewalk Art Festival, Tampa, Florida, 2009
Mt. Dora Fine Arts Festival, Florida, 1st Place Award in Watercolor Category, 2010
Des Moines Art Festival, Best in Painting award, 2010
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Art Fair on the Square, Madison Wisconsin, Invitational Award, 2010
Lakeview East Festival of Art, Chicago, Best in Show, 2010, first place, 2018
Fountain Square Arts Festival, Evanston, Ill, First Place in Painting, 2011, First Place, Painting, 2018
Uptown Art Fair, Minneapolis, Best of Show in Painting, 2012, 2013, first place painting, 2014 and Best of Show, 2014
Art Fair on the Square, Belleville, Illinois, First Place, Painting, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, Best in Show, 2016, First Place, Painting, 2017, 2018, 2021
Autumn Harvest at Deer Park, Illinois, Best of Show, 2013
Art Rapids, Elk Rapids, Michigan, Best of Show 2014
Carmel International Arts Festival, Carmel Indiana, First Place 2013, Best of Show 2014. 2015. 2016, First Place Watercolor, 2019
Art n Apples Art Fair, Rochester, Mi., Award of Excellence, 2014
Round the Fountain Art Fair, Lafayette, Indiana, Third Place, 2015, best of Show, 2017
Lakeshore Art Festival, Muskegan, Michigan, Second Place , 2015, best of show 2022
Grand Haven art in the Park, Best of Show, 2017
Grand Haven Art Festival, First Place, Painting, 2019
Petoskey Art in the Park, Second Place, 2019, best of show 2021
National Competitions
American Watercolor Society Annual, Salmagundi Club, NYC, 2009, 2011
Watercolor USA Annual, Springfield Art Museum, Springfield, MO, 2009, Winner, Greg Theilen Memorial Prize, 2010
Georgia Watercolor Society Annual, 2009, 2010
Showcase of American Art, Taos, New Mexico
Texas Watercolor Society Annual, traveling exhibit
Michigan Watercolor Society Annual
Midwest Watercolor Society Annual
Illinois Watercolor Society Annual, 2010
Transparent Watercolor Society Annual, 2011
Publications
American Artist Magazine
The Artists Magazine
Splash Five, North Light Books
Splash 11, North Light Books
Splash 12, North Light Books
Best of America Books, Volume II : Watermedia
The Artistic Touch, North Light Books
Cover Art for the Ann Arbor Observer
Contact Information
E-mail address
Studio phone
734 355 2992