Derek Hare was born on the North East coast of England and the Durham and Northumberland coastlines became the first sources of inspiration for his earlier paintings. Derek studied commercial art at Sunderland Art College and is a self- taught painter. Having begun to establish himself in the early 70’s, he spent time in Sweden, Norway and Germany, where he lived for some time on an island in the Baltic, exhibiting widely in these locations as well as in UK. Throughout the 80’s, his reputation became much more established, particularly in Germany, where many corporate and private buyers added his work to their collections.
In 1989, Derek revisited Portugal, a country he first saw in the early 80’s. The crashing Atlantic breakers on the ruggedly beautiful West Coast, north of Cape St Vincent, have inspired many paintings of long, dramatic beaches, often wreathed in sea-fret while the Bahamian island of Abaco provides a totally different source of material, the shallow, iridescent water demanding exciting changes in his palette. Each year, several months spent visiting these locations, as well as trips to India, Morocco and the Seychelles in his search for new material, whilst also preparing work for exhibitions and commissions, keeps Derek very busy. As a painter mainly of landscape and marine subjects, he is always happiest on or near the ocean. Fortunately, he has been able to tailor his lifelong passion of oil painting and combine it with his second love, the sea. In the UK, Scottish and East Anglian coastlines figure strongly in his work, providing dramatic contrast to his more exotic locations.
Derek Hare is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts.
