Selected as Parkland Library’s “Artist of the Month” in September, Parkland resident David Haley, 79, had more than 20 of his more recent paintings, many of them award winners, on exhibit.
“We are all enjoying David Haley’s artwork,” says Lenore Russo, program coordinator at the Parkland Library. “Each one of his paintings is mesmerizing and very detailed. His paintings add color and life to our gallery walls.”
The artist who moved to Parkland two years ago from Indiana is a former CEO of two major healthcare management companies, including Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. He worked in all aspects of health care, spending the last 15 years with the largest hospice group in Indiana.
With a family, three kids, enlisting in the Navy, going to graduate school, and running a hospital, Haley had a full life with not much time for extracurricular activities. It wasn’t until he divorced in 2007 that he found he had some time on his hands.
He sold his first painting for $150 in 2011 from the trunk of his car when his now-wife, Rhona, took the car to a car wash and someone spotted the painting in the trunk when she went to get her purse.
Since then, Haley’s work has gone on to win at least eight major art competitions, including First Place in the “Nature 2022” international juried painting competition conducted by Artorful for his painting “Intrepid,” depicting a froth of white water engulfing a lighthouse in a storm; Finalist Award in the 2022 Color International Juried Art Competition for “Wire Fence,” a barbed-wire fence in the foreground of a pink and orange crepuscule sky; and “Enduring,” which won third place out of hundreds of submissions in Artorful’s BlueOrGrey 2022 Art Competition. It now belongs to a collector in Naples.
Other paintings featured in the library’s exhibit included “Blue Cap,” acrylic on canvas, a realistic portrait of a man in cold, snowy weather, with ice crystals on his beard and eyebrows; and “Broken Treaty,” oil on canvas, a portrait depicting an indigenous man realizing his people will have to go to war.
Haley’s works have been exhibited in the South Bend Indiana Art Museum, in Walter Reed Medical Center, in a juried regional gallery in Plymouth, Indiana, and in a pop-up gallery in the Chicago area.
With no formal training or art education, he says about his success, “I can’t believe it. I’m amazed.”
He says, “I paint landscapes, seascapes, animals, or portraits that speak to me. I don’t have a particular style like Van Gogh or Picasso. There is no recognizable Haley style. I try to stretch myself.”
In his artist’s statement, he explains, “I seek to produce emotion in the images I create.”
Haley paints from a studio in his third bedroom in Cascata whenever he has the opportunity. “That’s where all the magic takes place,” he jokes.
With family and seven grandkids nearby, he has other responsibilities and paints when the opportunity strikes, sometimes painting until 4 a.m., although he prefers painting in solitude with the natural light.
Haley’s personal favorite is “Drink a Beer,” an oil-on-canvas painting inspired by Luke Bryan’s song of the same name, which recounts the story of personal loss, sitting at the end of a pier, drinking a beer, and reflecting on life.
In his own life, he credits his stepfather, John Haley, for being a role model.
“He was a big foundation for me,” Haley remembers, growing up with two brothers and a single mom. “He was the most pivotal person in my life. He gave me values, showed me right from wrong, and taught me about hard work.”
Apparently, those values took hold. When asked about the quality he values most in himself, his wife Rhona jumped in: “Integrity,” she said.
With many career highlights, including his work in end-of-life care and being a part of so many touching stories, Haley’s painting brings new highlights.
“I like to watch the reactions of the viewers to my art,” he says. “Each person sees the same image, but each takes away something different.”
With so many accomplishments under his belt, what goals would he still like to achieve? “I’d love to have a solo exhibit and showcase my work at a museum.”
For more information: www.facebook.com/DavidHaley.Art. www.saatchiart.com/account/artworks/742692.