About the Artist

Hale began studies in design school at NCSU.  After graduating with a degree in Business, and working for a time in advertising and real estate, Trotter became interested in painting full on..  He studied painting at "Thistledown art Studio",  family run, near Hot Springs, Virginia.  He learned much about painting and plein-air from the many artists who taught at Thistledown, and also learned of the Taos art colony at this time.  Hale has painted extensively, in locations such as Virginia, Guatemala, Provence, Paris, Belgium, Italy, Sydney, Tasmania, Colorado, New Mexico, Amsterdam, California, Hawaii, and Maine to name a few.  Trotter has won awards for his paintings and his work is in high demand, in a career that spans over  thirty years.  His subject matter range from landscape and still life, to interiors and figurative works.

Hale is a "plein-air" painter and traveling artist, always looking for inspiration and subject matter.  He applies paint in a direct manner known as "alla prima", where the viewer can see the process of the painting in each stroke applied to the canvas.  "Try to create what you see in the minds eye."  Trotter enjoys engaging the creative spirit, and can be found out in the field, or on a street corner working to capture the scene on canvas..

   "Painting taps directly into your creative spirit"

    "Live for your art, and it shows in the work"