As a Plein-Air painter, James Hartman captures light and shadow with dynamic brushstrokes and a vibrant color palette. He searches for essential forms in nature while expressing a personal response. His influences are the California Society of Six, and the Bay Area figurative artists.

Hartman studied art at Meramec College in Missouri then went on to become an art director for a publishing company for fourteen years. He spent over a year in Holland where the work of the Dutch masters and colorful environs of the landscape inspired him. Living in the Bay Area has provided Hartman opportunities for further studies in fine arts at the San Francisco Art Institute and Stanford University.

“As a painter I am always inspired by the changing color and light found in nature. Most of my paintings are done at sites that were frequented by the California Society of Six painters. Many of these locations have been disappearing due to development, so I feel compelled to capture the shapes and colors of these places with generous amounts of paint.”