NORMAL - Art remains the center of W. Douglas Hartley's life.

"Wherever I see something I think is beautiful, I'll paint it," said the Normal resident, 84, who retired in 1989 as an art professor at Illinois State University.

"I don't run out of things to do. I run out of time," said Hartley, who is writing a novel.

An acclaimed sculptor, Hartley concentrates more on watercolors nowadays. "Sculpture isn't quick or easy. It's an enormous commitment," he said.

Hartley estimates he's done more than 100 busts and 500 to 700 watercolors. Some of his work is scattered across the country, but much remains here.

For instance, he cast the bronze bust of Adlai E. Stevenson II at the Bloomington Public Library and produced the terra cotta busts of W.O. Davis and Jesse Fell in The Pantagraph lobby.

Hartley, who's partial to busts because of a fascination with faces, was drawn to art at an early age. "I was in sixth grade and was looking at art books. In those days, they weren't even in color," he said.

His art has been highly acclaimed, with nearly a dozen of his sculptures listed in the Smithsonian Institute's Inventory of American Sculpture.

There have been McLean County honors as well.

A half-century of his work was showcased in 1997 in an exhibit at the McLean County Arts Center, Bloomington. Entitled "A Fifty Year Survey of Watercolors and Sculpture," the exhibit included about 30 watercolors and 15 sculptures.

"It was a highlight. I was very proud to be there," Hartley said.