Carlos Hadaway
© Arizona Sentinel
Let's Go, April 2001
by Todd Elwood
Carlos Hadaway stars as "The Arizona Kid." With cowboy hats, six shooters and a buffalo head on the wall, his Fountain Hills home studio serves as an elaborate stage.
In character, Hadaway dresses the part, from the top of his tall cowboy hat to the tip of his authentic boots.
Yet not much separates "The Kid" from Carlos. The
Arizona Kid is only an exaggerated version of Carlos Hadaway. 
"The character is pretty much me," he said. "I got married in spurs and boots."
The part is as comfortable as a well-worn pair of boots, but economics plays into, too.
On its own, Hadaway's cowboy and western paintings are very good. Sometimes whimsical and sometimes dead-on, his art captures the wide-open sense of life on the ranch.
But when he's selling a painting, that's when The Kid appears.
"I learned that when I had a ball cap on and comfy ropers, people didn't respond as well," he said.
So he slips into his Arizona Kid role, tells a few stories of his cowboy days (all true), and suddenly, his customers have a wonderful painting and a story to tell.
It's not all about a sale, though. Like Will Rogers, Hadaway is a showman who seemingly never met a man he didn't like.
To be successful in art, and in life, he said, "You should just talk to people. You've got to realize that someone can be with 50,000 other people and still be the loneliest person in the world."
If Hadaway gets a hold of you, you won't be lonely for long.
He's rich with stories and anecdotes. He's completely approachable and friendly.
His get-up suggests a cowboy who's seen a lot, and his blazing blue eyes (made bigger by thick glasses) and a wide smile give him an "aw shucks" modesty you can't help but warm up to.
Incidentally, the coke bottle glasses are a necessity. He suffered blindness twice as a child and underwent six eye operations to regain his sight.
Some say it's better to be lucky than good. He's both.
He created a series of Budweiser paintings mostly for fun. He wasn't authorized to do so, but instead of facing a lawsuit, Hadaway met with August Busch.
Hadaway walked away from the meeting as an official licensee and with a Clydesdale horseshoe as a gift.
In the 1970s, Hadaway parked his van outside a meeting of top executive for Montgomery Wards and displayed his art. By the end of the day, plans were in works to display his art in every Wards store in the country.
"You've gotta have guts," he said. "If you're scared of something, it's not going to happen."
He taught himself art after buying a house. "I needed something for the walls," he said.
He tackled cowboy life the same way. As a city kid, he knew little about being a cowboy, but the McGuire family in White tanks, Ariz., took him under their wing.
And he got to know the McGuires just by saying howdy. Just by talking to people.
Today, Hadaway is turning his energy to the Internet. His site, www.arizonakid.com, is building steam. His wife, Nancy, is the site's designer.
He's also working for the Great Indoors, creating interior designs.
"In the art world, you don't see the trends," he said. "My success has been about being 10 years ahead of what's happening."
As for the next couple of years, Hadaway said he wants to get back to what he loves, and spend some time on ranches, before they're all gone.
No matter where he goes, he'll likely be welcomed with open arms. And it'll all start with, "Howdy, I'm The Arizona Kid."
(For additional information about Arizona Sentinel Let's Go, please please visit their web site at www.fhtimes.com/letsgo).
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