Today we’d like to introduce you to Haley Hasler.
So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
At my recent solo exhibition at the Fort Collins Museum of Art, the walls were covered with paintings of one woman, in various guises, poses, and narratives. I was asked to speak about the work. It was clear that one question had to be first addressed: Why do I paint Self-Portraits?
It started with a practical problem: I needed a model; as an art student twenty years ago, models were expensive; and I found in my always-at-the-ready reflected image a means of to taking on the problem I was obsessed with: how to paint a face. Without exactly intending it, I began a twenty-year inquiry into the purpose and meaning of the self -portrait in today’s world, with oil paint and brush on canvas.
At the beginning, while I was in the early stages of grappling with the meaning and direction of my work, I denied that it was self-portraiture at all; I insisted that what I was interested in was a female protagonist, and my face and figure were merely the models standing in for this alter ego. Later, when I began hiring models, I found that I was unable to access an interior landscape that I had begun uncovering at the heart of the work. With a model before me, I became entranced with the outer persona; the act of closely examining another person became intriguing in itself, but it led the work in a very different direction. It remained in the realm of one person’s outer appearance being observed and documented – always from the outside – by another. This was interesting, but I could not access the conflict I had begun to find so fascinating: between the interior and exterior themselves. Here is the unique privilege of the self-portrait: it contains the act of the Interior Self, looking at and recording the Exterior Self. This seems to me to be an investigation of arching relevance in the modern world.
But first, another practical problem presented itself. (Practical problems often lead to interesting discoveries.) When painting oneself, there is the problem of constant movement – while in the act of working, and when the artist wishes to step back and take a critical look at the work. Here is where the display mannequin comes in. From a vacant clothing store, I came across almost twenty years ago, I acquired my first mannequin. In addition to offering a body to clothe, light, and position, the mannequin opened up a whole world of “still life” arranging, and hence, a whole new realm of narrative possibility.
Here is how I work today: I begin a new painting by building the set-up with the display mannequin. Both the set-up and the painting itself will change throughout the painting’s progress, and I know this going in, but I begin with the elements or theme that interest me. These may be either a narrative idea or a color/compositional idea, or a combination of both. It is a much like building a still-life, but large in scale and centering on the display mannequin, which will be become the self-portrait in the painting.
In the case of “Portrait with Burning Bush”, as with many of my paintings, I started with a source from art history: Madonna of the Burning Bush by the 15th-century French painter Nicolas Froment. I am a mother of three children, and something about the character of Mary holding her child, unharmed, remote, and yet hemmed in by in her private miracle, intrigued me. To understand more, I needed to paint it.
I knew that my “burning bush” would become a group of domestic elements: geraniums, colored lights, toys and food. I began building the set-up with this loose idea, and soon the colors, lighting, and other compositional elements began to guide me.
Studio work like these large-scale paintings continues to occupy a great part of my creative energy and output. In addition, I have now found my way back to painting portraits of others. Friends and family and strangers: live sitters come to my studio and let me look at them closely and try to represent them on canvas, while we talk comfortably for sessions that can last several hours.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No one continues to be a painter unless she or he can’t imagine life without this work. There are many sacrifices to be made along the way. It entails a commitment to a way of life that probably doesn’t appeal to many. The reward is in the doing. It is a profound reward.
For the twenty-plus years that I have been working as a serious painter, most of that has been time spent alone in the studio, with only myself to look to for judgment, affirmation, a critical eye, even a deadline.
Then there are the exhibitions. A year or two of solitary work might culminate in a public event, a show, a publication. Here is where the painter gauges her audience and her reach. The private work is exposed. This is rare and valuable feedback, but it is not the final word. For better or worse, she continues.
Please tell us more about your art.
I am a figure painter. Over twenty years of personal studio work has been mostly based on self-portraiture and autobiography and exhibiting it to the public, but now I am finding a great interest in portraying others. Recently I have turned my attention to commissioned portrait work. The very personal nature of my self-portrait work carries over into the portraits of individuals who sit for me, or who commission me to photograph and paint themselves and their families in their private environment. This is my favorite work at the moment. I like to work with people and find a composition that excites us both.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The quality that has been crucial to any success I have had, has always been a driving purpose and work ethic. The creative work I do is so compelling that it has superseded most other activities in my life. Even when there is little attention and no audience, as is often the case as a solo working artist, I work with direction and commitment.
I am as creatively invested in a commissioned portrait painting as I am in my private studio work.
Contact Info:
- Address: 342 West Douglas Rd
Fort Collins CO 80524 - Website: haleyhasler.com
- Phone: 9706312484
- Email: haleyfhas@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleyhasler/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/haleyfhas
Suggest a story: VoyageDenver is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
