​Having drawn and painted for as long as she can remember, Hadley Rampton graduated from the University of Utah with an Honors BFA in Painting and Drawing in 1999. During her course of university study, she spent a semester in Florence, Italy taking classes in studio art, Renaissance Art History and History of Renaissance Architecture. Rampton began painting professionally immediately after graduation.

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Born and raised in Utah, Rampton developed a great love for the outdoors. Not surprisingly, painting en plein air in the mountain and desert landscapes of the Rocky Mountain West and Colorado Plateau became her motus operandi, with aspen trees becoming her favorite subject matter. Her time spent studying abroad ignited a love of exploration and immersion in other cultures, catapulting her practice of traveling to capture her impressions of foreign cities and street scenes in watercolor & ink. Countries in which she has painted include Italy, France, Switzerland, Spain, England, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, Check Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Cuba, Morocco, Palestine (West Bank) and Malta. Her travel painting has led to collaboration with various humanitarian projects and organizations overseas. These include Project Wezesha in Western Tanzania, University of Utah Neighborhood Partners and their work with Karen and Karenni refugee camps in northern Thailand, and Choice Humanitarian in the Altiplano of Bolivia.

 

Over the course of her over 26 year professional career she has participated in numerous Juried Exhibitions, Invitationals and Solo shows held at such venues as Springville Museum of Art, The High Desert Museum, Desert Caballeros Western Museum, Eccles Art Center, Salt Lake Community College, Sedona Art Center, Idaho Falls Art Center, Phillips Gallery and Art Access.

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She has been featured in several publications including Plein Air Magazine, Western Art & Architecture, Judsons Plein Air Journal, Artists of Utah’s 15 Bytes Online Publication and Southwest Art Magazine. Rampton’s work can be found in the collections of the Wallace F. Bennett Federal Building, SLC, UT, Raymond James Financial, the Yellowstone Club, Questar Gas, Aspen Traditional Rehab, and the Law Firms of Preg, O’Donnell & Gillett; Rooker Mohrman, Rawlings & Bailey; Ballard Spahr; and Hutchinson & Steffen.

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ARTIST STATEMENT

Some tell me I’m crazy for painting in the mountains in the dead of winter, or for battling swarms of biting flies in summer. And yet, there I stand for hours, working, feeling there is nowhere else I would rather be.  I’m energized by the challenges and beauty of nature, by the dynamics of light, atmosphere, and temperature in the Rocky Mountains and in the deserts of the southwest. The changes in weather that occur while I’m painting do not bother but thrill me. A storm welling on the horizon, gaining momentum, and catching me in its fury is exhilarating.  Even the same location can time and again leave me with a sense of awe. Some days I work with great energy, slapping paint with a palette knife, dripping turpentine and then pushing around the thinned paint or letting the drips create patterns of their own. Other days, I’m quieter, and my use of the palette knife is more controlled, as I attempt to honor the integrity of each stroke. I work on instinct more than thought, for instinct holds greater honesty and clarity.

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I begin by painting the actual scene before me, but as the work progresses, I delve into the personality of the piece. A three-way dialogue forms between the natural scene, the painting, and me. Which one speaks loudest changes from moment to moment and, if anyone becomes dominant for too long, the work can fail. It is the balance between the three that keeps me engaged. My work is a direct response to the environment and to my existence in it.

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AWARDS:

2024       Third Place in Best of Show Category, Sedona Plein Air Event, Sedona Arts Center,       Sedona,  AZ

2024       Best Red Rocks, Sedona Plein Air Event, Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, AZ

2018       Jury’s Choice Award, “Art In The West”, High Desert Museum, Bend, OR

2016       Angel’s Landing Award of Excellence, Zion National Park Foundation

2010       Juror’s Award, Utah Watercolor Society Miniature Show

2006       Juror’s Award, Utah Watercolor Society Fall Membership Show

1998-9   University of Utah President’s Award for Outstanding Scholastic Achievement

1998       Honors Society of Phi Kappa Phi

1995-9   Dean’s List, University of Utah

1994       George Fox Award for Outstanding Achievement in Fine Arts, Rowland Hall-St. Marks

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JURIED EXHIBITIONS:

2025       Art At The Park, This Is The Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City, UT

               38th Annual Sears Invitational, Utah Tech University, St. George, UT

2024       Art At The Park, This Is The Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City, UT

2023       Art At The Park, This Is The Place Heritage Park, Salt Lake City

               Sedona Arts Center’s 42nd Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Sedona Arts Center

               Sedona, AZ

2022       Sedona Arts Center’s 41st Annual Juried Members Exhibition, Sedona Arts Center, Sedona, AZ

2021       13th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Willard Art Center’s Carr & Hall Galleries, Idaho Falls, ID

2020       96th Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

               12th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Willard Art Center’s Carr & Hall Galleries, Idaho Falls, ID

2019       95th Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

                11th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Willard Art Center’s Carr & Hall Galleries, Idaho Falls, ID

2018       Salt Lake Community College President’s Art Show, Salt Lake City, UT

2017       Salt Lake Community College President’s Art Show, Salt Lake City, UT

               93rd Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

               9th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Willard Art Center’s Carr & Hall Galleries, Idaho Falls, ID

2016       Salt Lake Community College President’s Art Show, Salt Lake City, UT

                92nd Annual Spring Salon, Springville Museum of Art, Springville, UT

                8th Annual National Juried Exhibition, Willard Art Center’s Carr & Hall Galleries, Idaho Falls, ID

                Annual Statewide Competition, Bountiful Davis Art Center, Bountiful, UT

                Art Of Our Century, Woodbury Art Museum, Utah Valley University, Provo, UT

                Utah Watercolor Society’s Spring Open Exhibition, Eccles Community Art Center, Ogden, UT

2015       Eccles Community Art Center Statewide Competition, Ogden, UT

2014       Utah Arts & Museums Statewide Annual Exhibition: Painting & Sculpture, Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2014       President’s Art Show, Salt Lake Community College, Salt Lake City, UT

2013       Eccles Community Art Center Statewide Competition, Ogden, UT

2012       Southwest Contemporary Realism, Arroyo Gallery, Santa Fe, NM

               4th Annual Juried Exhibition, Willard Arts Center's Carr Gallery & Blake Hall Community Gallery, Idaho Falls, ID

2011       Utah Watercolor Society Fall Show; Michael Berry Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2010       “Utah ’10: Mixed Media & Works On Paper”, Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

               Utah Watercolor Society Mini Show, Michael Berry Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2009       “35 X 35”, Work by 35 Local Artists under 35, Finch Lane Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

               “Windows To The Divine”, Madden Museum, Denver, CO

2008       “Utah ’08: Painting & Sculpture”, Rio Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

                Utah Watercolor Society Fall Show, Finch Lane Art Gallery, Salt Lake City, UT

2007       Salt Lake Community College President’s Art Show, Salt Lake City, UT

2006       Salt Lake Community College President’s Art Show, Salt Lake City, UT

2005       Traveling Exhibit with Utah Arts Council

               Utah Watercolor Society Spring Show, Eccles Community Art Center, Ogden, UT

2004       The Regional 2004, St. George Art Museum, St. George, UT

               Utah Watercolor Society, 2004 Fall Show, Park City, UT

               Eccles Community Art Center Statewide Competition; Ogden, UT

               New & Emerging Artists of Utah Show; Salt Lake City, UT

2003       St George Regional Art Exhibit; St. George, UT

               Eccles Community Art Center Statewide Competition; Ogden, UT

2002       Eccles Community Art Center Statewide Competition; Ogden, UT

2000       Eccles Community Art Center Statewide Competition; Ogden, UT

               Springville Museum of Art’s 76th Annual Utah Spring Salon; Springville, UT

1999       The Deseret News Landscape Art Show; Salt Lake City, UT

               University of Utah Student Show, Salt Lake City, UT

 

Contact Mountain Trails Gallery for a full Hadley Rampton CV