Donald Charles Hartley was born and bred in Fish Hoek, where he spent much of his childhood exploring the valley and climbing the surrounding mountains.
In his earlier years he composed poetry and dabbled in some drawing, but it wasn’t until 1975, at the age of twenty-six, that he showed some formal interest in art. He attended the Ruth Prowse School of Art as a fulltime fine arts student until 1978, receiving valuable training in painting, graphics, sculpture and photography.
Between 1981 and 1987 he spent time travelling overseas and started doing street portraits – he has pretty much been doing portraits ever since.
Some 10 000 portraits later, he has been seen on the pavements, squares and beachfronts in Europe, Australia and all over South Africa, including the Durban Esplanade, Johannesburg’s Gold Reef City and Cape Town’s Greenmarket Square, Table Mountain and V&A Waterfront. While he was in Australia, he also got involved in doing pavement art, using chalks.
Besides seeking fulfillment in the art world, Don has also chosen to express himself in various other avenues:
He was a key component of Cape Town’s prominent climbing fraternity that, in the 1970’s, opened many of the ascents and routes on Table Mountain. Travelling abroad, his mountaineering exploits have taken him to the French Alps and he was a member of a climbing expedition to the Kerguelen Islands, in the southern Indian Ocean, in 1975; also known as the Desolation Islands, they are regarded as being among the most isolated places on Earth – surely a climber’s (and artist’s) delight!
In his early twenties, he discovered his natural talent and penchant for running. Virtually overnight, he became one of Cape Town’s top long-distance runners, winning the Two Oceans 56km Ultra Marathon in 1972 and 1973.
In 1997, he ‘revived’ the historical Three Peaks Challenge, a gruelling trail and mountain race that involves climbing Cape Town’s three iconic peaks in one day; 23 years later, he still organises the 122-year-old challenge. The acrylic paintings he presents as prizes, and the much sought-after hand-sculpted small clay mountains that are awarded to each of the finishers, continue to be a unique feature of the event and provide a personal touch.
Adventurous though he is, he has seldom forayed into the world of organized personal art exhibitions. “In 1982, while I was away climbing in the Alps, my mother hired the Fish Hoek Town Hall for an exhibition of my pictures. Many of the pictures were hung upside down – nothing sold! Bless her! In 1983, I held an exhibition of my European sketches at Nedbank, in St George’s Street – nothing sold!”
As a street portrait artist, he claims to have “no formulas, only pure sketching. Traditionally, we are regarded as hacks by the art world.” Although technology has changed the ‘old-world’ face of portrait-painting somewhat, Don continues to be armed with little more than his art materials, an easel and two chairs.
Meanwhile, he has continued to do paintings, drawings and sculptures. “All these years, I have endeavoured to maintain integrity. I am prepared to tackle any subject. I have no secrets – only artistic integrity.”
Gavin Snell