Shared Joy

Claudia Hartley chats with Scottsdale Artists' School about her roots as an artist and instructor

SCOTTSDALE ARTISTS' SCHOOL:

What is your first memory of making art?

CLAUDIA HARTLEY: My mother said it began when I could hold something in my hand. My childhood was spent drawing and coloring. The best present I ever received was a large box of Crayola crayons. My favorite colors were Prussian blue and turquoise.

SAS: When did you begin to pursue art as a career?

CH: My original goal was to be an art professor. I attended the University of Georgia and received a BFA in painting and drawing. In the '60s it was the best art school in the South. Painting classes were experimental with lots of freedom. Realism was considered bad—everything was about being modern. I got married and started a family, so my graduate work was put on hold. I was accepted by two galleries in Atlanta. I taught art in our home, headed up a volunteer art program at my kid's school and painted part time. It was 20 years later, after my divorce, that I began painting as a full-time career.

Claudia Hartley, Sunset Reflection, acrylic, 16 x 20 (40 x 50 cm)

SAS: Tell us some things people don't know about you.