Welcome to hardestyarts.com. Here you will find work by David Hardesty and Beth Hardesty.
Hi, I’m David Hardesty. I focus on painting and drawing realistic subjects. I love portraits, figures, and landscapes. My figurative art is very traditional. My landscapes are also traditional, but lean towards impressionistic. Right now I am focusing in two areas:
- I am painting a series of watercolors and oils that celebrate the beauty of Marin County, California (just north of San Francisco). My eventual goal is 100 paintings (I might be close to 50 right now).
- I am also doing a lot of figures and portraits. Many of my drawings are of actors and actresses (they have such great faces).
Back story
My day job is professional writer, teacher, and occasional consultant in the areas of taxation and financial reporting. I am also a long-time dedicated artist, and I write about spirituality. Somehow all of this fits together.
I have been an artist since grade school. I studied art in college; first at Sacramento City College (Sacramento, California) where one of my teachers was the landscape artist, Gregory Kondos (http://www.gregkondos.org/) . I then studied at the College of the Arts, in Oakland, California, under such teachers as the watercolorist, George Post (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Post_(painter)).
After three or four years working as a professional artist (and living on very little income), I decided to go back to school to get more education in advertising and the business side of art. So, I went to Golden Gate University in San Francisco. There, I discovered I was really good at accounting, taxation and math, and that I really liked these subjects (perhaps the promise of earning a good living enhanced their appeal). So, I graduated with an accounting degree, then a masters degree in taxation, and spent the next 35 years as a CPA. During that time I started writing textbooks for Thomson Reuters (I have just completed my ninth book for that company – see http://davidhardesty.com).
I never let go of art, however. I continued to work in many mediums: drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, and photography.
I think that I am doing my best work right now. I gave up most of my tax consulting practice (after 35 years my dues have been paid). I now have time in the morning to focus on art. I dedicate at least three hours each morning to art; and it is surprising how much one can get done in that amount of time.
As I mentioned, I also write about spirituality. A few years ago I wrote the book, Finding Your Power to Be Happy (see http://irrationalhappiness.com). I am currently working on a book focused on meditation and Buddhism.
HardestyArts.com 