The artist’s European travels inspired the colorful Little French Village, acrylic on canvas, 16" x 20".

When asked about her signature patchwork skies, Hartley explains that she started doing them out of necessity, for acrylics dry too quickly to be able to blend colors. “I realized that if I put squares of color next to each other, I’d have the colors I wanted, and that from a distance, as with Impressionist paintings, your eyes would blend them.”

Clark David Olson of Bonner David Galleries agrees. “You can see her post-Impressionist influences. More than that, Claudia is a skilled colorist, ” he says. “She knows exactly how to use multiple shades of complementary colors, and she uses them in every painting. This makes her imagery pop off the canvas.”

Hartley’s influences do include the post-Impressionists, but more specifically certain aspects of their techniques: Gauguin’s colors and Matisse’s patterns. Hartley remembers an even earlier influence: “It was a trading card with blue horses on it,” she says. “I loved that they painted horses that way. It made me want to do it. After all of those years I am doing it. If I want polka-dot skies, I’ll paint polka-dot skies,” she says with a laugh. “And no, of course I don’t really see polka-dot skies. Just as Matisse did, I paint the emotions of the scene.” Apparently those emotions are captivating; most of her collectors own more than one of her paintings.

Ann and Al DeBoer own seven of Hartley’s pieces. “We first saw one of Claudia’s paintings at a friend’s home, and we insisted on stopping at the gallery to look at more of her work. We placed one of her interior room views above a large fireplace because it looks so stunning and dramatic there,” they say. “Her paintings give us immense pleasure and also a sense of place. They make us feel so alive and so positive.”

When she reflects on her life, Hartley is just as positive. “I began working with acrylics out of desperation,” she admits. “And it was one of the best things that could have happened to me. Like Moses, God brought me to the desert to learn, and learn I have. I feel so privileged just to be able to paint. The end product of a finished painting is satisfying, but in truth, it is the process that I love the most. It is like a dance to me, and I really enjoy doing it.”

The artist’s work is on permanent display at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale.