1966 born in Barstow, California, a few blocks from Route 66.
Paul Hadley grew up in California, Utah and in Hawaii.
Studies: Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah.
Paul Hadley lives in Pioneertown, CA and in Salt Lake City, UT.

2009 West – East, The Betsy Hotel, Tbilisi, Georgia

2005 Drive-By, ArtSpace Forum Gallery, Salt Lake City, Utah

2004 MXF & Bing, Sponto Gallery, Venice Beach, California

2003 Trade Cities, Washington Theater, Los Angeles, California

2003 One Hundred Photographs Monarch Scooters, San Francisco, California

2003 One Hundred Photographs, Sponto Gallery, Venice Beach, California

2002 Old Frame Prints, Vesuvios, San Francisco, California

2002 Ambervisions, Sponto Gallery, Venice Beach, California

2002 Ambervisions Sneak Preview, Greening Street, Portland, Oregon

2000 Trade Cities, Pico St. Theater, Santa Monica, California

1998 Blue Children: Photo-Paintings, SoHo, San Diego, California

1996 Various Works: Photo-Paintings, Grunts&Postures, Salt Lake City, Utah

1994 Tree: A Permanent Installation, Irving St. Lofts, Portland, Oregon

1993 Seed Tree Fruit: Sculptures and Photography, TrixHaus Gallery, Portland, Oregon

I remember driving with my family all over the American Southwest as a child - riding in the backseat of our station wagon – my father playing Johnny Cash on his 8-track player in the car – setting the mood for the country western landscapes and the long lonely highways linking them together.

In my twenties I used to throw darts at a map to randomly pick places to drive to by myself.

Long days of driving open up the possibilities of stumbling upon that perfect haphazard assemblage, that special ray of sun, the fluffiest cloud, the saddest tree. I never stop, I shoot while driving. Roadsigns become paintings, police cars become toys – everything becomes simple, cleansed of over-detail and shaped softly with buttery-like watercolor.

Ambervision is what I call the perfect road photograph. It has sentiment in its story, delicate curved lines - evenly soft and plump, with the quintessential painterly complexion. It will startle when first glanced upon and colors will possess an uncommon arrangement or an absolute match.

As a child I was fascinated by the cartoon of The Roadrunner and The Coyote – the highways, the desert backdrop, the colors. I can see some of that in my work today.


Paul Hadley, June 2011