About the Artist

Creativity and craftsmanship have been part of David Hastings’ life for decades. Long before turning his attention to painting, David spent more than 25 years designing and building custom furniture—an experience that developed his appreciation for composition, proportion, craftsmanship, and the beauty found in carefully considered details.

Painting eventually became a natural extension of that creative life. What began as another way to explore ideas quickly developed into a passion for telling stories through color, atmosphere, and the human experience.

Today, David creates contemporary narrative paintings that capture moments that feel as though they have been taken from a larger story. A woman pauses beside a vintage race car. A child quietly observes something just beyond the frame. A driver waits in the moments before a race. A solitary figure encounters something unexpected on a distant horizon.

The subjects may change, but the intention remains the same:

to make the viewer wonder what happened before—and imagine what might happen next.

Vintage automobiles and motorsport frequently appear in David’s work, reflecting his fascination with their history, design, and sense of adventure. Other paintings explore quieter human moments, imagery of the American West, and occasionally the unexpected or unexplained. Together, they inhabit a visual world where nostalgia, imagination, and contemporary storytelling intersect.

Color is central to David’s approach. His paintings combine the recognizable world with heightened color, warmth, and atmosphere rather than strict photographic realism. Figures and environments are intentionally simplified in places, allowing the emotional character of the scene to remain more important than perfect detail.

For David, a successful painting doesn’t tell the viewer everything.

It leaves something unresolved.

That space between what the artist reveals and what the viewer imagines is where the story truly begins.

David continues to develop his body of work while exhibiting at juried fine-art shows and building relationships directly with collectors. His paintings are held in private collections, and his work continues to evolve around the idea that has become central to his artistic practice:

Every painting tells a story. You finish it.