July - August 2018, Carnegie Arts Showcase, Contemporary Art, Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA. 2 paintings

Gallery Photo, 'Blue Iris'

'Blue Iris'

Birth of a Painting Series X: "Mountains, Clouds, and Streams".

Birth of a Painting Series X, “Mountains, Clouds, and Streams”.

“The world is a world of becoming. To see being in becoming, and becoming in being, that is enlightenment”. D.T. Suzuki

Empirical and experiential sculptural paintings, within a natural environment, the paintings are a combination of massive sculptural grounds, forming a reflection of nature, reflecting the temporal nature of man.

"Mountains, Clouds, and Streams", mixed media on wood, triptych, 4' x 6', 2005. Courtesy of the artist.

Nature Series: Themes of Taoism by Denise Hartley. Sculptural paintings on wood.

“My paintings are influenced from real physical spaces that exist in nature. The painting is intrinsic to the wood panels that I use. A tree was cut down to create this panel; the life of the tree encourages the finished piece. My paintings begin more as sculptural projects. I assemble, sand, stain, and texture, with an eye to the wood grains. I apply the paint by rubbing the surface. The surface inspires the art.” D.A. Hartley

"Tao", cast bronze, 10.5" x 22", 2002.

Birth of a Painting Series VII: "Douglas Creek". 2015

         Douglas Creek is one of many small creeks that come directly from the high-country snowmelt and natural springs. It is our drinking water for our cabin in Stanislaus National Forest, located at 6,700 ft. where the water is delivered by gravity flow. After passing by our cabin it enters the South Fork of the Stanislaus River, which begins at (9,635 ft. (2,937 m) Leavitt Peak, in Tuolumne County and eventually enters the San Joaquin River, and drains into the San Francisco Bay.

          This little mountain stream and river have sustained life well beyond our time. There are parts of wagons used by the settlers trying to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There are obsidian points from the Miwok Native American tribe and grinding stones. The tiny stream banks are lined with willow, horsetail herb, mints, orchids, and many other wildflowers. As a child I wandered where ever I wished, with the caveat that, if lost, head downhill. I have slept outdoors with bear and mountain lions as possible visitors. Deer have taken a nap beside me. Chipmunks and Golden Mantle squirrels have sat in my hands. I trust the four- legged critters but keep a wary eye on the two legged.

          Climate Change is changing our landscape quickly. We had to saw down six large beautiful Ponderosa trees this year alone. They are dying at a rapid rate, from bark beetles (love the heat), and a fungus, which spreads from fir tree roots. This was all predicted by a U.C. Berkeley scientist that wrote about how pollution affects the photosynthesis process, especially in the Ponderosa Pines. I watched a fire burn this summer across the river, tree torches burning brightly in the night. 

Denise Hartley