Scott Hile

Born in Sydney, Nebraska, Scott Hile was the oldest of five boys. He lived there with his parents until he was nine at which time his family moved to the Southwestern United States. Scott spent the next three years going back to Nebraska in the summers, staying on his Grandfather' farm. The farm was a veritable children's paradise. Scott enjoyed hunting jackrabbits, herding cattle on horseback, riding on motorcycles, swimming in the canals and learning how to drive a car on the back roads at a very young age.

Scott says his childhood was "ordinary." Somewhat unusual, however, is that his parents were very supportive and encouraging of his early desire to be an artist. He says that his mother saved every doodle and drawing he did from pre-kindergarten through high school. His brothers have also gone into creative professions.

After graduation, Scott worked in the construction field for several years., He learned masonry work and became a block layer. Seeing an opportunity, Scott and another friend started a business together and built many homes in the area. Despite his youthful success, it was not personally fulfilling to him, and he could see that it was physically very wearing. Decision made, he sold his half of the business to his partner and took off in his truck to explore the Southwestern and Northwestern United States.

First settling in Montana and later in Oregon where his Grandparents lived, Scott made a living working in a variety of jobs. In Oregon, he worked on an Oyster Farm on a boat supervising a crew. With a lot of time on his hands, he resumed drawing and sketching, and honing his talent. His underlust satisfied, he went back home, having made the determination that this time, he would pursue a career that would allow him to use his artistic talent.

Scott was successful in finding work as an artist and worked for one Gallery for several years. Through a friend, he found out about an opening at Rosenbaum Fine Art. Because of the many good things he had heard, he was eager to work there, and has happily remained since 1989. Particularly important to him is the opportunity to work around other artists as he derives some of his inspiration from them. He feels that continually working alone leads to stagnation. The encouragement to be creative and take risks has not only caused his work to mature, it has allowed him to expand his artistic horizons. As Scott's work has evolved, he has become increasingly interested in multi- media, which has partially driven his fairly recent interest in photography.

Using acrylics, Scott's abstract art is painted on paper, canvas, wood and metal surfaces. He says he is influenced by everything almost all of the time. While Scott can paint in any style, this very talented artist typically tends to be linear. He takes note of the various planes found in nature and translates this geometric harmony onto a canvas. As time has gone by, he increasingly uses found materials, such as newspaper, in his artwork. He says there is usually a message in his work, but he is not aware of it until the painting is about half done. And since art is so personal, he wants the viewers to find their own message. One entity he does openly share is his sense of humor, which he employs in his titles. One painting called "All of the Marbles," has a companion piece he later painted. It has fewer brightly colored objects, and he titled it, "Some of the Marbles, But Not all of the Marbles."

Scott is very much a family man. His wife, four children and eight grandchildren take up most of his free time, and that is just the way he wants it. Busy with church related activities, swimming and cooking, he still manages to go camping and hiking. Through his hiking experiences, he found a new way to express himself artistically. Photography is his latest passion. First only done for fun, it became a new direction for him as an artist. Originally using it only in his paintings as partial elements incorporated into his art work, he now produces unique photography as well. It is an exciting new avenue for him to follow and has additionally provided him with more inspiration for his paintings.

Picasso and Monet are two artists that Scott deeply admires. Robert Rauschenberg, is another artist he particularly enjoys because of Rauschenberg's vision to combine found objects into a composition that works.

Scott loves painting and plans to do it forever. He says that when he is painting, he can "escape" and get lost in his own isolated world where he forgets any of his problems. Feeling balanced, happy and satisfied, this artist is very comfortable right where he is.

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