For nearly a decade, Ardsley Park resident Hampton Watts has brought the textures, stories, and mythologies of the South to life through his evocative oil paintings. A Charleston native, Hampton traces his artistic beginnings to afternoons spent drawing at his grandmother’s house — early moments that would eventually shape a career rooted in narrative, place, and a deep appreciation for Southern identity.

Hampton’s artistic journey has taken him far beyond the Lowcountry. His passion led him abroad to France, where he immersed himself in the study of figurative masters. After returning to the United States, he pursued classical oil painting at the Savannah College of Art and Design, earning his BFA in Painting in 2015. Over the years, his work has grown increasingly refined and richly layered, drawing from Southern literature and the region’s complex oral traditions to create modern reinterpretations of familiar themes. His paintings, influenced by voices such as William Faulkner and Flannery O'Connor, work to both honor and re-contextualize the stories of the coastal South. Today, his pieces can be found in the collections of the historic Governor Thomas Bennett House and the William Aiken House in Charleston, South Carolina.

Much of Hampton’s inspiration comes directly from the natural beauty and character of Savannah itself. Morning walks along marsh-side paths and the quiet rhythms of coastal life help shape his visual language, evoking atmosphere, memory, and heritage. When he’s not studying the landscape, he often turns to literature — Faulkner, O’Connor, and Wendell Berry among his enduring influences — drawing from their depictions of the South’s grit and grace to inform new narrative directions in his work.

Among the pieces that stand out most to him are two paintings inspired by Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying — works that have become touchstones for the direction and depth he continues to explore in his art.

Hampton creates side by side with his wife, fiber artist Courtney Watts. Together, they form a quietly dynamic creative team, each contributing to a shared appreciation for craftsmanship, storytelling, and the layered histories of the region they love.