On August 27, 1948 Hayden was born in the small town of Ramah, New Mexico. Not nearly as well known as other cities, such as New York, or Los Angeles, but it did have a lot of prairie dogs. There, untainted by museums, studios, and pretty much any kind of outside influence, Hayden's creative juices were allowed to flow like the water flowing in the river of Capistrano.

As the youngest, and only brother of two older sisters, Hayden learned early on in life to find peace and solitude out in them there hills. With so much time spent outdoors, he quickly grew to appreciate the wildlife he found all around him, and soon found himself taking many long walks in the hills with his .22 or .270. There he could enjoy nature the way the Lord intended it: with a little salt and butter, evenly roasted over the glowing embers of the campfire (To learn more about Hayden's childhood you can either ask him, or easier yet, just read any Patrick McManus book).

Hayden didn't enjoy only the tastier side of wildlife; he also began to express his love for it on paper--with a crayon or two. It didn't take long for his talent to be realized by others, and soon Hayden's work could to be found all around: on the kitchen refrigerator, his bedroom wall, and on many of his homework assignments.

In order to gain a greater education than Ramah could offer, Hayden went to Brigham Young University, where he cheered for New Mexico at all the BYU vs. UNM football games. At BYU, Hayden was finally able to take an art class. Okay, to say that a professional artist only took one art class in his life seems a bit unbelievable, and you're right--that is a blatant exaggeration. He actually took two. He took a drawing class and a watercolor class, but came through both of them unscathed. To this day he has never drawn, painted, or envisioned another bowl of fruit. His experience at school wasn't a complete loss, however. Hayden graduated as valedictorian in Youth Leadership in 1970. That's right . . . valedictorian. Take that Sally Johnson!

Anyway, Hayden pursued his love of the outdoors as a career scouter for the Boy Scouts of America for six years. Between scouting, hunting, and painting, Hayden found some time to get himself married to the most beautiful girl in all of Pocatello (and Chubbuck for that matter). But since scouting took too much time out of his painting, he decided to turn his full attention to art in 1976 . . . and he became very hungry. That was okay though, because he was used to being hungry after working for the Boy Scouts of America.

His hunger, however, quickly turned into success, and in 1982 he printed his first, well, for lack of a better word, print. And the bucks came rolling in (mostly mule deer). In 1988 he was selected to be the Artist of the year for Whitetails Unlimited, and Artist of the Year for the Foundation of North American Wild Sheep in 1990, after which he decided it might be a good idea to try painting some wild sheep. In the winter 1991 he was chosen as Artist of the Quarter for the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and then Artist of the Year for the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association. To this day, no one knows what the heck a Minnesota Deer is.

For many years Hayden's work could be seen at shows such as FNAWS, Safari Club International, Game Coin, The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, and others. He was also a charter member of the now defunct Wildlife Artists of the World, and served as chairman of the selections committee for that organization. (He claims his service there had nothing to do with its being defunct, but . . .) Many of his paintings have been published by Leanin' Tree Publishing Co. in their Christmas card line and the National Rifle Association uses his work for cards, prints, and target practice.

Hayden's artwork has been featured in art and outdoor magazines such as Art West, Hunters' Quest, Wildlife Art News, Idaho Wildlife, Cabela's, New Mexico Wildlife, Alaskan Outdoors, Thrifty Nickel, and others.

He has also uses his work to raise thousands of dollars each year for conservation groups in order to help them, well, conserve things such as big game, water foul, and Native American bingo halls.

Some projects outside of his normal paintings, sculptures, and prints include several conservation and habitat stamp prints for various Canadian provinces, a 6-plate Alaskan series for The Bradford Exchange, limited edition prints for Cabela's, Bass Pro Shops and the NRA, covers and illustrations for Boone & Crockett Records publications, and sometimes a volcano or Styrofoam solar system for one of his children's science projects.

From Hayden's artwork, his enthusiasm for wildlife conservation, and the moose ribs on the dinner table, it's easy to see that he has a love for the great outdoors--a love that has been shared by his wife and eight children.

As much as he loves the outdoors, he loves his family more. His children will attest to the fact that he is even a better father (and grandfather!) than an artist. On Monday evenings his time is spent with his wife and family, and youth in his church. Friday nights are reserved for him and Cheryl to get away for "date night." Hayden can also be found volunteering much of his time to his church and community.

 

 

 

 

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