Dawn Hayden Now Has Time to Explore Her Artistic Side

New Anderson Artists Guild member Dawn Hayden has had a busy life raising her children. She decided many years ago to be a stay-at-home mom because her husband runs a demanding business in Anderson. But now her daughter is out of the house in a career in Greenville and her son will be a sophomore at Anderson University.

Now that her children are young adults, she’s been exploring her artistic side. She’s been taking classes in Greenville for a few years, starting with drawing and then switching to painting (acrylics and oils) and more recently colored pencils. “I like to draw the most, and I like the colored pencils,” she said. “I like the control and how you can fix mistakes.” She’s not too fond of watercolors but is entranced by oils. “The oils glow,” she said. “And if you mess up, there still time to scrape.”

She works from photographs and is drawn to flowers, wildlife, and landscapes. Her style is evolving. “I started off pretty abstract but am getting to be more detailed,” she said. “But I’m all over the place. I love color and trying new things.” Her work was recently accepted at Smitten, a boutique for handcrafted items in Highlands, N.C., if you are ever visiting there.

For more information about Hayden, visit https://www.instagram.com/dawnhaydenart/.