Ex-Fighter Jet Pilot, Hollywood Actor/Producer Ted Hartley and His Art

At his East Hampton, N.Y., studio, in a large house overlooking the ocean, Ted Hartley shares his thoughts about left brain-right brain theory.

“I’ve read a lot of philosophy and psychology,” he said. “I like learning new things, and I got very much interested at one point in that theory, that creative people have a more powerful right side brain, and for technical and intellectual people, it’s the left side of the brain. That’s a lot of bull. If you let them, they communicate very well. They can speak the same language. Your brain is not aware of a creative side, and a technical or intellectual side.”

Considering his venturesome, multifaceted professional and personal life, it’s clear Hartley has both sides of his brain in sync, particularly when it comes to his painting. It’s a body of work both expressive and technically proficient.

Before becoming an artist, Hartley was a fighter jet pilot, U.S. Naval Academy and Harvard Business School graduate, investment banker and Hollywood and television actor with roles in “Barefoot in the Park,” “High Plains Drifter,” “Caddyshack II” and “Peyton Place.” He was married to the late actress and philanthropist Dina Merrill and is currently chief executive officer of RKO Pictures production company, producing movie and theater remakes of “Mighty Joe Young” and “Gypsy,” among other classics. On Wednesday, Hartley unveils “Onward,” his first solo exhibition in New York City, at the Nicolas Auvray Gallery at 522 23rd Street in Chelsea.

Not bad for someone born in November 1924, in Omaha, Neb.

“He is a young soul,” said gallerist Nicolas Auvray. “He feels that there is still a lot for him to do.”

On display are 27 of Hartley’s works, including collages, line drawings and mostly paintings on canvas in acrylics with, as Auvray said, “depth in texture, movement and strong color.” There’s also a self-portrait.

“His work is not thought on canvas — it’s lived. Each stroke is a moment of feeling,” Auvray said.

The centenarian recently sold some of his paintings, a series entitled “Kyiv,” for $50,000 and donated the proceeds to three charities — Come Back Alive, Spirit of America and the International Committee of the Red Cross — to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

“When Russia invaded Ukraine, I said I gotta do something. It’s like my fighter pilot attitude in me doesn’t allow me to just say ‘Oh, that’s too bad.’ I couldn’t think of anything to do to help, but I started a series of paintings, my Ukraine series, that I thought could get sold for enough money to be meaningful and get it over to Ukraine.” One painting, “Retreat From Snake Island,” depicts a big red mass hitting a lighter blue mass, connoting the conflict.

Hartley began sketching in second grade, created Christmas cards for the Naval Academy in the 1940s, but it wasn’t until much later in his life, and rather unexpectedly, that he began seriously painting. It had a lot to do with his wife Dina.

“She was an extraordinary woman. I was proud to be married to her, but she began getting weak 18, 19 years ago. I needed to find something that would catch her attention when her mind was not working very well. She liked people and I thought, she likes drawing, and I like drawing.” So Hartley arranged for his wife to attend an art class with a teacher and some of his wife’s friends. “Dina sat on one end, sometimes in a wheelchair, and drew things,” Hartley recalled. “She seemed to enjoy it. I could see her face light up. Although she didn’t say much, she was expressing herself on paper. Now, the birds she drew sometimes had three wings. The chipmunk that she loved to draw had two heads and this actually kept her going and her mind more active. I was sitting at the other end of the table, and felt that I had to get into this too. And I began drawing watercolors, and moved into oils and acrylics.”

Hartley’s favorite color is cadmium red, which is a vivid, opaque red. “I start with the color. Then I create a shape,” Hartley said, discussing his creative process. “The first thing I have to do is to get something down and even though my mind tells me you don’t know what you’re doing. I believe if you hear that voice inside of yourself saying don’t do this, or you don’t have that ability, that’s a good sign to get going and to do it, even if it’s uncomfortable at the beginning.

“The point is, let whatever is going on in you be your guide, whether you’re feeling bad or lonesome. Try a red color. Mix some yellows and blues together. Feel light and happy. So that’s part of it, but also there’s an excitement about having paint on a brush, or having paint on a tool, on a palette knife,” one of his favorite implements for painting.

“I also use this brush normally used for cleaning off clothes, but certain things that I want to accomplish require the feeling of bristles going across it. You can use wooden spoons. I guess you’d find things in the kitchen that would work. A good painter paints with whatever he needs to get the story on the canvas.”