Biography
Hicks Lake (Nov 2020)
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I have worked as an artist, illustrator, and designer, full-time for over 30 years. My art has always been inspired by the natural beauty of where I live, have lived, and also all the places in British Columbia, Canada, I have visited over the years. I work out of my studio in Maple Ridge, British Columbia, Canada, just 1 hour East of the city of Vancouver, Canada, 3 hours north (depending on traffic) from Seattle, Washington State, USA, and only a few minutes away from seemingly endless forests, mountains, wildlife, and lakes. |
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My art and Expression
My artwork has always focused on detail, which did not make me popular with my Fine Art instructors who gravitated toward rendering in the surreal and abstract. I could see their perspective, to get young art students to loosen up, and to get them to try new expressions and statements. That is all good and I did comply while I was in school. You can learn a lot from abandoning your comfortable creation process by embracing new forms of art expression. This is no different from traveling the world to learn how other cultures live, but I still wanted to render the beauty of nature in a way that was different from what I was seeing in most art galleries. I have always felt the need to create art and to look toward the natural beauty that surrounds me for my inspiration. I wanted to create art that reminds me of where I grew up, next to large forests, parks, and lakes. As a result, my art centres on natural history, how I see it, how it affects me, and rendered in my own style.
A CONDENSED History OF MY WORK
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• Completed 5-years full-time art studies specializing in illustration, painting, and printmaking.
• Worked for 4-years in archaeology in British Columbia as an excavator, surveyor, field artist, and artifact Illustrator. • Employed for 6-years, full-time, as an in-house illustrator/graphic artist/art director with a Vancouver based publisher. • Worked full-time as an artist, illustrator, and designer for over 30 years. • Have been focusing on creating natural history paintings for art gallery presentation since mid-2019. • Taught acrylic painting in sessions of 25-60 adults with over 170 painting sessions taught between March 2018-March 2020. |
Art show History
I have had several art shows in my life starting with student art shows while attending art school. My emphasis has always been on working in the industry and on commissions than showing my art but over the last 12-months have I shifted my focus toward showing my artwork in art galleries. Previously, when I have been involved in an art show it was because my work came to the notice of a gallery owner and I was asked to partake in an upcoming show. In May 2019 I submitted my artwork to the MAC gallery in Mission and was accepted to have a solo art show.
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• ACT Art Gallery in Maple Ridge, BC: Group Show, Garibaldi Art Club Exhibition: Oct 24 - Dec 12, 2020 - 1 piece
• Deer Lake Art Gallery in Burnaby, BC: Group Show, Deer Lake Art Show: Sep 5 - Oct 10, 2020 - 1 piece • Fort Art Gallery in Langley, BC: Group Show, Fort Langley Art Show: Jul 17 - Aug 16, 2020 - 2 pieces • MAC Art Gallery in Mission, BC: Solo Show, MAC Art Gallery: Feb 11-29, 2020 - 30 pieces • Maple Ridge Gallery/Gift Shop in Maple Ridge, BC: Group Show: Jun 2004 - 8 pieces • Dreamscapes Gallery/Gift Shop in Maple Ridge, BC: Group Show: Nov-Dec 2003 - 4 pieces • Maris Art Gallery in White Rock: Group Show: Jun 1996 - 8 pieces |
THE PAINT COLOURS I USE WHEN I PAINT
When I paint, I almost exclusively will only use 5 colours and these are: Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Phthalo Blue, Titanium White, and Carbon Black. I always mix the colours I need rather than rely on premixed paints. This is how I was taught while attending Fine Art School as a full-time student and this just became habit. I find mixing the colours I need on the fly faster and less disruptive than having to stop to look for a specific tube of paint hiding somewhere in my art box. Mixing my colours enables me stay focused on my art.
BRIEF BACKGROUND OF PAST WORK
I have worked full-time on many publishing projects over the years for a wide range of clientele, including the creation of full colour cover art, cartography, woodcut/linocut art, full colour interior art along with pen&ink illustrations, as well as design work for many magazine, book and brochure publishers. It is how I lived and improved my art skills over the last 30 years.
My current art projects for clients (2020):
• Client commissioned me to create 150 full-colour icons for their mapping software. All art is rendered at 400% is size before reduction.
• Client commissioned me to create 18 illustrations for a medieval themed book; x9 linocuts/x9 pen&ink pieces 1/4 to 1/2 page sizing.
My current art projects for clients (2020):
• Client commissioned me to create 150 full-colour icons for their mapping software. All art is rendered at 400% is size before reduction.
• Client commissioned me to create 18 illustrations for a medieval themed book; x9 linocuts/x9 pen&ink pieces 1/4 to 1/2 page sizing.
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