Biography
60 Years of Experience
Derek Hare is a British artist specialising in original marine oil paintings and coastal landscape art, collected internationally by discerning private and corporate collectors.
Derek has spent more than 60 years painting the sea, from the Northumberland coast where he grew up, to the Bahamas, Germany, Seychelles, Portugal, Scandinavia and India. A professional painter since 1965, he has devoted his career to understanding the changing character of light, atmosphere and water.
Born and brought up in South Shields on the North East coast of England, Derek comes from a family with a seafaring background, and the sea has always held a particular fascination for him. His paintings are not simply records of particular places. They are the result of decades spent observing how light, weather and atmosphere transform the sea, coastline and landscape.
During the 1970s and 1980s, Derek travelled extensively throughout Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany, where his paintings attracted a growing following among private collectors and corporate clients. His work was acquired by organisations including Deutsche Bank, Kreissparkasse, Merck Fink, Barclays and KPMG.
In the 1980s, HRH Sheikh Maktoum Al Maktoum, then ruler of Dubai, purchased several of Derek's oil paintings, including specially commissioned works. These paintings remain in the family's collections in the UK and abroad.
Derek's fascination with the sea subsequently took him to Portugal and, in 1990, to the Bahamas. For more than 30 years he returned to the islands, particularly the Abacos, painting their beaches, shallow turquoise waters, mangroves, rocky shores and changing light. His Bahamas seascape paintings continue to be collected internationally.
In 2003, Derek was commissioned to produce a series of 30 seascape oil paintings promoting the Seychelles as a tourist destination. The resulting collection received considerable acclaim and was exhibited in Cork Street, London, at an exhibition opened by the Deputy Prime Minister of Seychelles.
India has also been an important influence on Derek's work. Following visits to the country, he created a substantial collection of landscape and seascape paintings that was used by the India Tourist Board, now Incredible India. His 2006 exhibition, Visions of India, brought together paintings inspired by his experiences there, and the colour, atmosphere and character of India continue to influence his work.
Over six decades, Derek's constant observation of the sea, sky, landscape and light has developed into a distinctive and recognisable style. His knowledge is built on experience rather than theory — accumulated through thousands of hours of painting and drawing, both on location and in the studio.
Derek has curated collections for residential and corporate clients and produced specially commissioned artworks for private clients, companies, hotels and super yachts. His paintings can be found in homes, offices and hospitality settings, as well as on board yachts around the world.
Limited and open edition prints of many of his original oil paintings have been produced by fine art publishers since the 1990s. His paintings have also appeared in image libraries and been used for merchandising, marketing and printed publications, extending the reach of his work beyond the original paintings themselves.
For collectors, 60 years of painting represents more than longevity. It represents craftsmanship, knowledge, experience, proven recognition and a lifetime devoted to understanding the subject.
Derek Hare is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Derek Hare. 60 years of painting the sea, and a lifetime of looking at light.