Zoe Hadley  comes by her artistic talent quite naturally.  As a native Californian, she follows in the path of her grandmother,  Zoe Gibbons, a recognized California oil painter (d. 1960), and her mother, Zoe Smith, an accomplished portrait artist and respected teacher of art in Southern California (d. 1992).  “Art” was spoken and clearly practiced in her home growing up.  This legacy spawned a rich background for her own artistic journey.

While raising a family, Zoe enjoyed a fulfilling career as a consultant, then owner of her own cosmetic company.  However, her passion for painting and fine art was compelling.  She sought classes and workshops, and has been mentored by such fine teachers as Dan Gerhartz, Kevin MacPherson, and Scott Burdick.  Then she enrolled in Graduate Studies at Art Center School of Design in Pasadena, California where she fell in love with figure painting.

Zoe’s technique is painterly, and her own personal style incorporates the play of brush stroke and design with a subtle color palette.

Since 1990 Zoe’s work has been exhibited in fine galleries and awarded many honors in juried shows.  She has traveled extensively, painting in France, Belgium and Italy.  This European influence shows strongly in her work.

Zoe has received outstanding critical acclaim, and was selected as “an artist to collect” by Southwest Art Magazine.  Her works are being collected by many fine private and corporate collections both nationally and internationally.  Zoe's works are included in the prestigious collections of Roy Rose (Catalina, CA.) and Ms. Joan Irvine Smith (Orange Co., CA.). 

In Zoe’s own words:

            “The human figure is the ultimate expression of creation, and I am so moved by the infinite depth of the human spirit.  The gesture conveys the emotion……joy, wonder, sadness, love.  My goal is to show aspects of the human spirit in such a way that one connects immediately with the subject.  I love painting people – doing what they “do” – caught, as they say, in the act of being themselves.  Painting has become my passion, and I see a “potential painting” every where I look.”