Short Bio
Mr. Hasbrouck combines classical realism oil painting and knowledge of ecology to create landscapes and wildlife close-ups celebrating the natural environment.
Statement
I paint natural landscapes, botanical details and wildlife, especially birds as I am a lifelong birder. My work combines classical fine art training with academic knowledge of biology and geography.
The realistic style in which I work requires me that I really see what is in front of me, which is more difficult than would seem. I rely on the natural environment for field sketches and reference photos. My works are interpretations of nature, not direct copies of particular places. I leave objects out, shift shapes, enhance values, and modify colors to get at compositions that express overall feeling while maintaining a realistic “look.”
From forests to seashores, I prefer the commonplace to scenic grandeur. I am especially drawn to the exuberance of tropical nature. My paintings are an effort to reveal the wonder of the natural world beyond our built environment. Why not just take photographs? I do, but for me, painting in a realistic style is a more deliberative process; if it is there on the canvas, I had to put it there. The work has to hold together as a painting.
Among my recent projects are painting local urban birdlife and a series of rainforest paintings, based on my work and travels in Central America.
As ardent advocate for environmental protection, I consider my paintings to be pleas for stewardship of wild nature.
Biography
His 10,000 hours were in the woods and fields growing up in rural Pennsylvania. There he gained an intimate first hand knowledge of nature within a very small area. During college Marshall expanded his outdoors experience with mountaineering, backpacking and canoeing. After earning his Bachelor's degree in arts and sciences, he set out to experience the world with little more than a backpack and enthusiasm. It was the golden age of hitchhiking, which was his principle means of budget travel. Wilderness areas were the primary destination. Along the way, he worked as a farmhand in Montana, a land surveying technician in Alaska, and a sailor/naturalist on a 130ft schooner in southern California before landing his first illustration job.While traveling in Panama, he met a Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute scientist who commissioned him for on-site pen-and-ink illustrations of rain forest trees. It was a tweak that moved him to more toward art. After completing geography master’s degree research in the San Blas Islands, Panama, he began art training in earnest, studying classical realism techniques with David Hardy in Oakland, California. Later, he won a 9-month scholarship to study fine art painting at the Art Students League in New York City.
For a time Marshall was represented by several art galleries, but with art income was reliable enough to put most of his attention on painting, he also worked as a self-employed residential remodeling contractor. For greater community involvement and direct input on our many pressing environmental problems, he worked for years as part-time community college environmental geography instructor and continues as volunteer steward of a local city owned open space.
Resume / CV
Previous Gallery Representation (not currently represented)William Lester Gallery, Point Reyes Station, California (gone)
School Street Gallery, Ukiah, California (gone)
Bettcher Gallery, Miami, Florida (gone)
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
1998: Landscapes of Costa Rica, Travel Service Montclair, Oakland, California
1995: Natural Landscapes: California and Yucatan, Albany Arts Gallery, Albany, CA.
1991: Natural Landscapes, Lotus Gallery, Berkeley, California.
Selected Group Exhibitions:
2003: The Art of Seeing, Nature Revealed through Illustration, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
The Art of Saving Oaks, Filoli, Woodside, California.
2002: Preserving the Land, Marin Open Spaces, William Lester Gallery, Point Reyes Station, CA Saving the Oaks, Bay Model, Sausalito, California
2000: American Artists Professional League Members Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY California Species Exhibition, Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA
Windows on Art, Alice Art Center, Oakland, California
1997: California Species Exhibition, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
Watershed Landscapes, East Bay Municipal Utilities District Administration Building, Oakland, CA
1994: Audubon Artists’ Association Annual Exhibition, New York, New York
California Species Exhibition, Coyote Point Museum, San Mateo, California
Magnum Opus ’94, Sacramento, California
Realism ’94, Parkersburg, West Virginia
World of the Rain Forest, Pence Gallery, Davis, California.
1993: Academic Artists’ Association Annual Exhibition; Springfield, Massachusetts
Knickerbocker Artists Exhibition, Alexandria Virginia
Magnum Opus ’93, Sacramento, California
Oil Painters of America Regional Exhibition, Santa Barbara, California
Realism ’93, Parkersburg, West Virginia
Salmagundi Club Non-Members Exhibition, New York, New York.
1992: American Artists’ Professional League Annual Exhibition, New York, New York
Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition, Mew York, New York
Magnum Opus ’92, Sacramento, California
Salmagundi Non-Members Exhibition, New York, NY.
1991: American Artists’ Professional League Annual Exhibition, New York, New York.
1990: American Artist’s Professional League Annual Exhibition, New York, New York, Audubon Artists Annual Exhibition, New York, New York.
1987: California Species Exhibition, Oakland Museum, Oakland, California
Commissions:
1994: Williams Meadow, Trinity Alps Wilderness, Mrs. Laurie Williams, Canyon, CA.
1993: Zephyr Point, Lake Tahoe, private collection, Moraga, California.
Articles:
2005: Face Time: Artists’ Self-Portraits, Southwest Art, November issue.
Awards:
1994: Nancy B. Galantiere Scholarship, The Art Students League, New York, NY.
1993: Gold Award for Traditional Painting, The Art of California Magazine.
1992: Award for Excellence, Magnum Opus ’92, Sacramento, California.
1991: Finalist for Landscape Painting, Artist’s Magazine.
This is a new website for me and I am still finding my way. More paintings and prices are forthcoming.
