Cowboy convert Parada's artist

Overcame blindness to paint way to fame

Carlos Hadaway's interest in the cowboy life began at sea.

While in the Navy during the 1960s, he served on a ship with several Arizonans who suggested the Western environment would suit him.

The notion proved prophetic.

Thirty years later, Hadaway, born in Virginia and raised in Southern California, is known by fellow cowboys and fans of his Western art as "the Arizona kid."

And this kid has plenty of spirit. Born with cataracts, Hadaway lost his sight at age 10. A series of risky operations restored his vision, but his eyesight eventually deteriorated once more. At 15, he was blind again.

Fortunately, new operations remedied his condition more permanently. Still, without the aid of Coke-bottle thick lenses, the world remains a big blur.

His recent selection as official artist of Scottsdale's Parada del Sol Festival is latest boost to an international reputation as an artistic chronicler of cowboy lore.

Hadaway, a self-taught artist, considers the thousands of Old West-themed paintings he has done over the decades a message to the future.

"I think of people someday seeing my paintings on the walls of space stations traveling between planets. Maybe it will keep alive the memory of a unique era of history," he said.

Hadaway doesn't only paint about the cowboy way, he has lived it. He has worked periodically on ranches throughout the state for almost 30 years, and ... still helps run cattle roundups.

His passion is abundantly evident in his Fountain Hills home. A veritable museum of Western art and cowboy memorabilia is on display, where recordings of vintage cowboy music play while he paints in his studio.

... Tom Mix, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers and dozens of other stars of cowboy cinema are memorialized in Hadaway's collection of photographs and mementos.

He also co-hosts a weekly Tucson radio show featuring cowboy songs.

His eyesight problems left Hadaway with a hopeful perspective on life, said longtime friend and Arizona cattleman Danny McGuire. Hadaway has never forgotten the charitable contributions that helped his poor family pay his medical bills.

"He's got a big heart," McGuire said. "Even though Hadaway can sell some of his paintings for thousands of dollars, he makes all kinds of contributions. He's given away a lot of his art for auctions that support charities."

A chance to exercise that generous spirit was one reason Hadaway accepted the Parada del Sol's invitation. The Scottsdale Jaycees plan to auction his official Parada painting Rodeo Influence, and pass along the proceeds to programs that benefit teens and children. Limited edition lithographs and posters of the work will also be sold.

Hadaway figures he will never tire of creating Western art. He sees his work as a celebration of the indomitable human spirit embodied in the cowboy tradition.

"When I paint the cowboy life," he said, "I'm painting my vision of heaven."

(For additional information about the Scottsdale Tribune, please visit their web site at www.aztrib.com).

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