Dave Hackett: Capturing the Fine Details with a Realist’s Eye

“If The Old Boat Could Talk”

“In 1961 when Carol and I married,” Dave Hackett said, “our goal was some day to move to Door County. And in 1999, we did!”

His secondary objective, he added, was “to have a studio and gallery, and develop an art presence” on the peninsula, an objective also realized as he became a successful artist specializing in watercolor paintings along with pen and ink drawings. Now he and his wife make their home in Sturgeon Bay.

Hackett works primarily in watercolor, as he enjoys the opportunities the medium provides “to experiment; so many things you can do with it.” But he also likes the challenges. “I’m a realist, a detail artist,” he said. He is not a “loose, wash painter,” but likes to “be tight,” and the watercolors do not allow him to make mistakes. “You can’t paint over!” he said.

However, he also works with pen and ink, an outgrowth, he said, of his interest in pencil drawing, because he regards this medium as “the next step,” using only one color “to create values and tones.”

Hackett’s work captures the essence of those qualities in Door County — barns and farms, lighthouses, boats and docks and landmark buildings — that attract both visitors and new residents, as it did Hackett more than five decades ago.

Young Dave met his future wife Carol when they were Milwaukee high school students, and she, in turn, introduced him to Door County.

“Her mother asked me if I’d like to go with them to Fish Creek and stay at the Parkside Cottages,” Hackett recalled. The year was 1957 and when Dave accepted the invitation, he not only fell in love with Door County, but with Carol as well.

He laughed when he recalled being teased by his friends that he was a cradle-robber, as Carol was only 13 at the time while he was 17.

Carol’s mother had grown up in Fish Creek. Her grandfather, A.E. Doolittle, had overseen the development of Peninsula State Park, serving in 1912 as its first superintendent.

The cottage where Hackett stayed had been located at the entrance to the park, but the units have since been razed. However, his connection with the state park has continued; in 2009, the centennial of the purchase of the land, he was asked to paint a commemorative montage celebrating the park’s various attractions.

Hackett attended the University of Wisconsin — Milwaukee majoring in art, as he had been interested in drawing since he was a little kid. In Milwaukee he worked by turns as a newspaper cartoonist, illustrator and sports writer; as an art director for advertising agencies; and ultimately, as owner of his own design studio.

“Grandpa Dahl’s Truck”

While the Hacketts were raising their family in Menomonee Falls, they continued to maintain their connection to Door County. To develop name recognition, he began exhibiting his artwork in galleries on the peninsula, not only selling his pieces but accepting commissions to paint people’s houses, boats and dogs.

Hackett’s mother bought a cottage on Appleport Lane east of Sister Bay and after enjoying that setting, the couple purchased a cottage in Fish Creek that they moved to Appleport Road, close to his mother’s place, as a vacation home to which he attached a studio-gallery.

And in 1999, the couple’s dream was realized when they moved full time to Door County; last year, they relocated to Sturgeon Bay where he now has his studio and operates an online gallery, continuing to maintain his active presence in the peninsula’s art community.

He has created a series of community posters, montages of images that celebrate towns and areas, as does the Peninsula State Park piece mentioned above. He has painted montages of Ephraim, Fish Creek and Sturgeon Bay, as well as other towns and areas throughout the state.

This summer he again participated in the “Paint the Bay” plein air painting event sponsored by the Door County Maritime Museum as part of their Classic and Wooden Boat Festival. Artists position themselves outdoors to paint nautical scenes; this year Hackett placed second in the competition, but last year he finished first.

Recently he exhibited his work at the Glas Coffeehouse in Sturgeon Bay and for the second time, at the Northern Door YMCA.

But he enjoys the peninsula because he “never runs out of subjects to paint in Door County.” He has interests that take him outdoors and around the area including golfing, hiking and biking. In his retirement, he is not driven to produce art, he said, but “I paint when I feel like painting.”

He continues to accept commissions, often painting homes, businesses and boats.

“I was so blessed to be able to find a profession that I really loved doing,” he said, recalling his career both as a commercial and fine arts artist. “I never felt I was going to work,” he continued, “and I got paid for it!”

“I still feel that way!”

To learn more about this artist who has won not only local but regional and national awards, and to view his online gallery, visit hackettgallery.com.

Photography by Len Villano.