Don Hamilton, Arizona
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"I have spent most of my life in Colorado and more recently Arizona, My goal with my work is to evoke a strong emotion, a sense of 'being there'.
I have traveled extensively throughout the west, painting and sharing my personal vision in a way I hope draws people to my work by connecting on a personal level. "If someone can view my work and sense the cold, smell the dampness or feel the sun beating down, then I have been successful." 
Don Hamilton
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Contact us about this artist
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As a child Don loved to draw and would often bring his drawings to his grandfather, an artist and master stone cutter, to be critiqued. Later Don studied privately with Joe Brand, a respected wildlife artist and instructor at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, focusing exclusively on wildlife.
Don’s desire to work from life and vary his subject matter led him to branch out into other areas and most importantly, begin painting outside, “en plein air.” Don continued his education with outdoor workshops from a number of noted painters.
Don has exhibited at the Small Works Great Wonders Show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum-Oklahoma, Masters in Miniature Invitational Show, Trailside Gallery-Jackson Hole Wyoming, Western Masters Show-Montana, Salon International-Texas, CM Russell Auction-Montana, Mountain Oyster Club-Arizona, National Exhibition, Oil Painters of America and previous Colorado Governor’s Art Shows. Don continues to travel throughout the west, seeking to “capture the moment.”
Artist's Statement: "My art reflects my environment. As a 3rd generation Colorado native now living in Arizona I have traveled throughout the world and particularly the west, capturing the nuances of the world in which we live. The subjects I choose to paint reveal my life and my experiences wherever I roam.
Although captivated and inspired by the grand vista, I am more likely drawn to the intimate scenes, those that people often pass by everyday with little thought. Simply put, I love to take those everyday experiences and make a statement that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Like the way snow covers a hillside, or the patterns formed by a field irrigated by spring rains. Anything in my daily life is fair game and an ultimate subject.
Art is a language. It is of paramount importance to capture the essence of emotion the subject conveys, not just a well-documented rendering of a scene. This allows the artist to communicate to the viewer in an intimate way. Often the people who connect with my work speak in terms of feeling and emotion rather than subject. Even when relating one of my paintings to some place in their past, their childhood for example, I find it is really their emotions about that memory that excites them. When my painting makes that connection I know I have succeeded.
The focus of my work is on light as the vehicle that moves the viewer through the image and transports them to that special moment, defining the large shapes in the landscape rather than the small details. Ironically, to do this the artist needs to understand the details and make decisions, conscious and unconscious, about what to leave in and what to remove. When struggling with a piece I look for what to remove rather than what to add. Simple is often better."
Don’s desire to work from life and vary his subject matter led him to branch out into other areas and most importantly, begin painting outside, “en plein air.” Don continued his education with outdoor workshops from a number of noted painters.
Don has exhibited at the Small Works Great Wonders Show at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum-Oklahoma, Masters in Miniature Invitational Show, Trailside Gallery-Jackson Hole Wyoming, Western Masters Show-Montana, Salon International-Texas, CM Russell Auction-Montana, Mountain Oyster Club-Arizona, National Exhibition, Oil Painters of America and previous Colorado Governor’s Art Shows. Don continues to travel throughout the west, seeking to “capture the moment.”
Artist's Statement: "My art reflects my environment. As a 3rd generation Colorado native now living in Arizona I have traveled throughout the world and particularly the west, capturing the nuances of the world in which we live. The subjects I choose to paint reveal my life and my experiences wherever I roam.
Although captivated and inspired by the grand vista, I am more likely drawn to the intimate scenes, those that people often pass by everyday with little thought. Simply put, I love to take those everyday experiences and make a statement that turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. Like the way snow covers a hillside, or the patterns formed by a field irrigated by spring rains. Anything in my daily life is fair game and an ultimate subject.
Art is a language. It is of paramount importance to capture the essence of emotion the subject conveys, not just a well-documented rendering of a scene. This allows the artist to communicate to the viewer in an intimate way. Often the people who connect with my work speak in terms of feeling and emotion rather than subject. Even when relating one of my paintings to some place in their past, their childhood for example, I find it is really their emotions about that memory that excites them. When my painting makes that connection I know I have succeeded.
The focus of my work is on light as the vehicle that moves the viewer through the image and transports them to that special moment, defining the large shapes in the landscape rather than the small details. Ironically, to do this the artist needs to understand the details and make decisions, conscious and unconscious, about what to leave in and what to remove. When struggling with a piece I look for what to remove rather than what to add. Simple is often better."
