Ron Hicks

Scottsdale Artists’ School: Tell us about some of the phases you have gone through as an artist and how that has influenced what you paint?

Ron Hicks: I was once of the mindset that if you can draw anything exactly as it appeared then you were therefore an amazing artist! However, as time progressed, the whole idea of being an “artist” has taken on a completely different meaning. Let’s say for example, the idea of seeing a [visual] artist in the same light as a music composer. Both are artists. A music composer pieces together various and multiple elements—instruments, melodies, harmonies, notes and keys, rhythms and dynamics, etc.—to comprise a complete and original work. He likely approaches the masterpiece with no inhibitions and perhaps even without structure or direction. The artist can therefore be free to pull from a plethora of internal and extrinsic resources—be it current events, or past experiences, pleasant or painful—to tell a compelling story that penetrates the emotions of the listener. Likewise, I am creating visual art that evokes a similar emotive response.

Ron Hicks, Amaranthine Continuance, oil on birch panel, 78½ x 53¾" (199 x 136 cm)

SAS: What counsel have you received that has most influenced your life and art?

RH: To encourage my brothers and me to do the best and be our best, my mom often said to us, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you always got.” As my career evolved, I took this advice to heart, implementing it into my philosophy and the direction of each body of work. In so doing, I developed an approach to seeing art differently now from when I first started. Intuitively, I allow my art and the direction of my work to determine what I paint.

SAS: We understand you are teaching at SAS again. Tell us about this.

RH: I returned to teach at SAS in May 2021 after a long hiatus. We had a sold-out workshop with an extensive waiting list…In case you couldn’t make it, don’t worry, we have two scheduled in May 2022 and we’ll bring you up to speed! These workshops are intended to serve as a vehicle to aid in finding your path with dialogue and exploring creative ways to meet this challenge. It’s less about tools and techniques and more about your “intuitive toolbox.” It’s about feeding your soul. There are only a few spots left. Come check it out…I promise you won’t regret it!

Ron Hicks, Silent Peregrination of the Wind, oil, 48 x 40" (121 x 101 cm)

Ron Hicks, Precarious Path, oil, 31¾ x 21½" (80 x 54 cm)

SAS: Tell us the one take-away you want students to get from your instruction?

RH: At the end of the day, it’s really about starting the process of understanding who you are as an artist and painting with [your] truth.

SAS: When someone looks at your art what do you want them to see?

RH: My goal is to take the viewer on a personal journey that stimulates his or her senses from a humanitarian perspective. And, to hopefully incite that same excitement and curiosity in my workshops. Art in every form is a language that transcends all barriers, whether color, race, creed, nationality and not to exclude gender and gender preference. Art is an inclusive culture that everyone can embrace because it embraces everyone. My hope is that when someone views my work that it speaks to them and they have their own experience, whatever that experience is. —

Visit www.scottsdaleartschool.org for more information on the school and its upcoming workshops.