Nikki Hicks
Pastels & Oils

I was trained in the classical manner: drawing, charcoal, pastel, and fnally oil. I found that this progression through the different
media helps prepare a solid background, and the discipline, for producing any works of art, but is particularly helpful for portrai- ture. I fnd people endlessly fascinating, each unique, and I enjoy
portrait work and enjoy teaching it.
In recent years I have desired to be freer with my work and to fnd a way to really explore color, so I have been doing landscapes in
both pastel and oil. I love the freedom of “playing with the colors” and rendering the emotions inherent in a day spent in nature. It
has also enlivened the portraits.
I apprenticed for a year with the Washington D.C. artist, Danni Dawson, who had apprenticed with Nelson Shanks, which means
I had a classical education in portraiture. This led to several portrait commissions and occasional teaching. I also did a lot of
commercial art, including illustration for newspapers, package designs for Ebonite, cartoons for an early computer program, shop windows, illustration for computer manuals and other odd
art/illustration jobs.
I have taught art to young and old in Kentucky and North Carolina and had work in the Biltmore Gallery Downtown in Asheville, and The Dark Horse Gallery in Forest City.
Contact Information:
nikkijhicks@bellsouth.n