Warren Hicks

Studio – Sept. 16th – 2011

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

The studio cleaned and organized for the 3rd Friday Art Walk. The four paintings in the corner are the newest and I don’t have any good photos of them individually yet. All of the canvases are 36×36 in., acrylic on canvas.

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Posted in Studio

NC Museum of Art

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

In September I was contracted by NCMA to help with the take-down and packing/shipping of the 30 Americans exhibition. It was a five day job that I thoroughly enjoyed, even though those crates can get very heavy. It was my first time working at that museum and I made some new friends with the staff. Now I have worked with every major museum in the Triangle area.

The 30 Americans exhibition is from the Rubell Family Collection in Miami, FL. NCMA was the first museum to exhibit the work. The show is now on display at the Corcoran Museum in D.C.

The next exhibition at NCMA is Rembrandt in America. Unfortunately I won’t be helping to install it. I’d love to get my hands on a Rembrandt!

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Posted in Art Notes

Studio – August 8th – 44″x44″

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

This is another experimental painting. It will be 44″x44″ when stretched. It’s another direction I’m exploring. I’m really happy with this piece but for now it’s rolled up in the corner.

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Posted in New paintings

Studio July 23, 2011 – ?

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

This is the largest canvas I’ve ever attempted, 48″x72″. It’s a totally unique experience staring at a blank canvas this large.

This is as far as I could take it for now. It has since been rolled up and placed in the corner until further notice. I’ve returned to painting for my upcoming shows next year. To be continued….

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Posted in Studio, Works In Progress

Studio July 5th, 2011

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Works in progress

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Posted in Studio, Works In Progress

Hmmmm

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Should I be concerned about flying out of an airport named after a guy that died in a plane crash?

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Posted in Random Non-Sense

2012 solo exhibitions

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Warren Hicks| 3 Comments

Hooray for me!

I’ve just secured my third solo show for 2012, all within a six month period. I want to produce three separate bodies of work so I’m not just shuffling paintings from one venue to the next. This is quite a challenge and I’m already starting to sweat. The dates seem far away on paper but the work needs to be completed at least two months beforehand. The reality is that I can’t paint every day and more importantly, and unfortunately, every painting I make isn’t always that good. Some just suck. The other brick dangling over my head is the constant fear of running out of ideas or just becoming repetitive. That’s the nature of the creative beast. She’s a harsh mistress.

February 2012: ArtSpace, Raleigh

April 2012: Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC

July 2012: Horace Williams House, Chapel Hill, NC

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Posted in Art Notes

new paintings – July 12th, 2011

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Chapel Hill artists, Durham art studios, Raleigh arts

Dain Bramage, acrylic on linen, 36x36 in.

Durham studios, Chapel Hill artists, Raleigh arts

Dain Bramage (detail)

“Insanely Jealous of Sanity“, acrylic on linen, 36×36 in.

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Posted in New paintings

ArtSpace – Raleigh

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

My paintings exhibited at ArtSpace received the People’s Choice Award last week during Raleigh’s 1st Friday Art Walk. I will also have a solo exhibition at ArtSpace in February 2012!

So far 2011 has become one of my best years and it’s only July. I’m still waiting to hear whether or not I’ll get a solo show for my stuffed animal series Fur Gone Wild. It’s probably a long shot but someone out there has to be crazy enough to exhibit them. Anyone?

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Posted in Art Notes, Exhibitions

FRANK Gallery – Chapel Hill, NC

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Raleigh artists, Durham art studios, Chapel Hill art

Loblolly, acrylic on linen, 36x36 in.

This painting was selected for a juried exhibition at FRANK Gallery. Artists could submit any media as long as it was black and white, no color at all. I had never done a black and white painting before. I consider color to be my strength so I thought this would be a good challenge for me. I painted three so I could have a choice of which one to enter. Luckily this painting was accepted. It was the second of the b&w series.

Durham art studios, Chapel Hill artists, Raleigh arts

Clutching Shadows, acrylic on linen, 36x36 in.

I’m also very happy with this one. It was the first b&w painting I’ve ever done. I had a difficult time choosing which one to submit.

Chapel Hill art, Durham art studios, Raleigh artists

Clutching Shadows (detail)

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Posted in Exhibitions

NC Museum of Art – Raleigh, NC

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Chapel Hill art, Durham artist studios, Raleigh arts, NC arts

I Ran Out of Titles # 21, acrylic and ink on paper, 6x6 in. (12x12 in. framed)

The NCMA just had their first fund raising auction to help support their community outreach programs. North Carolina artists were invited to submit works for consideration to be included in the silent auction. This is the first time I’ve ever donated an original piece of art to any organization (there’s a good reason but I won’t go into that now) but this seemed like a great opportunity and it was.

The craziest part about it was that you had to be selected to give a painting away. Luckily this piece along with many other works by NC artists were selected. There were over 350 submissions and only 125 selections (or something close to that number. My memory is ) The preview exhibition was displayed in the museum for two or three weeks (?) leading up to the auction.I have no idea how much it went for. I don’t think I want to know, unless it was more than the actual value.

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Posted in Art Notes, Exhibitions

studio June 11th – 18th

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Raleigh arts, Chapel Hill artists, Durham art studios

June 11 2011

June 18, 2011

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Posted in Studio

Cameron Art Museum – Wilmington, NC

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Raleigh artists, Durham art studios, Chapel Hill artists

The Ship Hit the Fan, acrylic and ink on wood, 21x18 in.

This is one of my favorite paintings. It is in an exhibition called “State of the Art/Art of the State” and will be on display at the Cameron Art Museum through October 22nd, 2011. It is the second painting in a museum exhibition this year. Sweet!

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Posted in Exhibitions

studio – new painting series

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

May 23, 2011

I’ll start adding photos of my studio on a regular basis so you can see what I’m working on. Notice the canvases are not stretched yet. I’m tacking the canvas onto boards and painting them on a flat surface. I don’t like the give and bounce of a stretched canvas. I prefer a solid surface so I can really grind the paint into it with my brush or fingers. Painting un-stretched also allows the image to continue over the edges and around the back continuously without a seam. That gives it a very clean look that is great with or without a frame.

The painting on the floor perpendicular to the wall, Sucker Punch and Cookies, is the only stretched canvas in this photo. I prefer tacking them to the wall and staring at them for a while before I decide they are finished. Then I stretch them.

June 6, 2011

Durham art studios, Chapel Hill artist, Raleigh arts

June 8, 2011

The stretching process has begun for the new paintings. I hope to have a couple more stretched this week.

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Posted in Studio

Happy Easter!

Posted on July 3, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Oops! I had these ready way before Easter came around this year and then I forgot about them. So I changed the release date to 2012. I can’t wait another year to post them or else I might forget again. So here they are.

Has a movie ever been made based on a fake movie poster? I know there have been movies made based solely on their titles because that’s the best part of those movies. So why not a poster? I’m willing to sell the movie rights for this one at a handsome price. Call me!

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Posted in Fur Gone Wild, Random Non-Sense

new painting – I Lost My Marbles

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

I Lost My Marbles, acrylic on canvas, 36x36 in, 2011

This is the third canvas in the new series. (I’m pretty sure I hate the second one so I’m not going to post it. I might set it on fire and film it.) This painting was inspired by another piece I did back in 2002, my first year of painting, called Thinking of You (below). That was also the first painting I ever sold ($125) and it was sold online from my email list. (Thanks Eric!)

I didn’t set out to copy Thinking of You when I started this new piece other than knowing it would be blue on blue and I would use similar brush marks. When I finished Marbles I thought the two might look much more similar than they actually do. Some ideas do improve with age. Don’t get me wrong, I still love Thinking of you, I just like to think that my work has improved over the past nine years.

I Lost My Marbles turned out to be the catalyst for the new direction I would take for the next several pieces in the series.

Thinking of you Chapel Hill art Durham studios Raleigh artists

Thinking of You, acrylic on canvas, 20x16 in., 2002

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Posted in New paintings

2009 exhibition at the VAE

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Some jackass sullying my exhibition.

The Visual Art Exchange (VAE) is a fantastic organization in downtown Raleigh. They do great work for the art community as well as their public outreach programs. You can check them out and see a lot of great artists on their site. http://visualartexchange.org/

Those crazy chicks that run the place are pretty cool as well. They do monthly exhibitions in the main gallery and four member shows in their smaller Exchange Gallery. I was one of the four for the month of April in 2009. And I have the privilege of showing there again this October, but in the VAE’s new and larger location. They will have 4x the space than in the old one. Congratulations!

That's my dear friend and fellow artist Kelly Cross (on the right). Our studios are across from one another.

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Posted in Exhibitions

Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Poster and T-shirt design

In 2004 I made a proposal to do the poster and T-shirt design for the annual Lazy Daze festival in Cary, NC. They accepted my concept and left me alone to do my work. I spent six weeks on the project altogether, two weeks on the design and four weeks on the actual painting. It was the first time I did a commissioned piece and there was a deadline to deal with along with the stress of it all. The painting came down to the wire and I was a wreck. But I’m happy with the end result and they were two. (there’s a small article about it on the PRESS page.)

Lazy Daze is during the last weekend of August, in the South, so it gets quite hot. Projectile sweating comes to mind. I don’t do outdoor shows or festivals for several reasons: the weather is an unknown factor; the public attending them aren’t typically looking to purchase fine art; crafts are king along with deep-fried sorrow sticks and it’s just not worth the hassle, financially or emotionally.

But the good folks in Cary requested me to exhibit my work and I was more than happy to oblige since they gave me the opportunity to participate in the first place. I was given a prime location so they could have me sign posters and T-shirts. You know you’re well on your way to delusions of grandeur when you’re asked to sign stuff you made. All aboard the crazy train. Next stop, Reality Station.

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Posted in designs

Studio – June 2009

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Durham art studios, Chapel Hill arts, Raleigh artists

Studio - June, 2009, featuring my paintings on wood

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Posted in Studio

the birth of Fur Gone Wild

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Boozy the Texting Bear, mixed media, 35x30x16 in., 2011

I was inspired to continue the stuffed animal series for a juried exhibition called “Unfettered” at the Visual Art Exchange (VAE) in Raleigh. I’d been sitting on the bear on a tricycle running into a wall idea for a bout a year.This seemed like the perfect outlet.

The surfing mercenary rabbit (Bugs Gunny) was created for the group installation at the VAE in 2006. I had so much fun with the rabbit I thought I should give it another shot. Unfortunately and to my amazed bemusement, Boozy the Texting Bear wasn’t accepted for the show. If that piece wasn’t unfettered I don’t know what is. I’m not bitter though.

I must thank the VAE for inspiring what turned out to be six weeks of some of the best times I’ve had creating art. There are 10 stuffed animal pieces completed to date. I have two more pieces ready to complete but I’ve shifted my focus back to painting, unless someone is willing to give me an exhibition for them. I’m sitting by the phone. I have all day.

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Posted in Fur Gone Wild

Chairman Me

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

postcard I made for the bon voyage party for my trip to Beijing.

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Posted in Random Non-Sense

Michelle Bachmann and John Wayne Gacy

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

Michelle Bachmann & John Wayne Gacy are both from Waterloo, Iowa

I couldn't help myself with this one. It was too easy, like manna from heaven.

Bachmann’s John Wayne slip

(CNN) – On the eve of her official presidential announcement, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann incorrectly identified movie star John Wayne’s origins in an attempt to draw a parallel between her and the American icon.

“I want them to know just like John Wayne is from Waterloo Iowa, that’s the spirit I have too,” Bachmann said Sunday on Fox News. “It’s embracing America. It’s sacrificing for America.”

John Wayne the movie star was born in Winterset, Iowa, which is approximately three hours Southwest of Waterloo, Iowa, Bachmann’s native city and the site of her presidential announcement Monday. But according to the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce, the actor’s parents did live in the city at one point.

However, it was a different John Wayne that caused the misstep to go viral on the internet.

Serial killer John Wayne Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois and later lived and worked in Waterloo where he was convicted of sodomy and sentenced to prison. Gacy, known as “the clown killer” was found guilty of 33 murders in the Chicago area in 1980 and died by lethal injection in 1994.

Bachman’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Posted in Random Non-Sense

my studio at Golden Belt, August 2008

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

My studio prepared for the first ever 3rd Friday event, August 2008. It's not always this tidy. (view from the door)

I moved into my studio on day 1 when the doors were finally open, July, 2008.

art, Chapel Hill, Raleigh Durham, NC, artists

the door is in the right hand corner.

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Posted in Studio

studio in Vermont

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

VSC - Durham Chapel Hill art Raleigh artists

My studio at VSC and some of the work I made while I was there.

In 2007 I was fortunate enough to receive a grant to attend the Vermont Studi0 Center in Johnson, VT. I was able to work in a private studio (photo above) for the entire month of February to prepare for my exhibition in Beijing that following April. Who knew it was really cold in Vermont that time of year? We experienced the 3rd largest blizzard in decades on Valentine’s Day, 3 feet in 8 hours!I even took off a layer of blankets when the temperature reached above 20 degrees during the heat of the day.

The extreme weather kept me focused in my studio. That was such a great experience! It taught me the value of having a dedicated working space outside of the house and convinced me to take a studio in Durham at Golden Belt Studios. www.goldenbeltarts.com It was one of the best career decisions I’ve made. I’ve made many dear friends and there is a wealth of knowledge, talent and resources that we all exchange.

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Posted in Studio

new painting

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

This is the first painting in a new series I’m currently working on. All of the canvases are 36×36 inches. This is the second largest size canvas I’ve ever done. I’ve primarily worked on wood and paper since 2006 with the occasional experimental canvas here and there. I’m really inspired by working in a larger format!

Sucker Punch and Cookies, acrylic on canvas, 36x36 in., 2011

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Posted in New paintings

Summer Hot / Summer Not

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

These are some pieces I did for a group installation at the Visual Art Exchange in Raleigh back in 2006. The show was called Summer Hot / Summer Not. We were exploring the disparity of summer vacations for the rich vs. the poor. I also wrote a large mural on the gallery wall of a fake class report on what a less fortunate kid did for his or her summer vacation called “My Vacation from Summer Vacations”. I might add the text here eventually. Or not.

Silly Rabbit. War is for kids!

A hole in one!

Bitter Homes and Garbage

Poor People Magazine

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Posted in Exhibitions

2011 Goal

Posted on June 10, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

I set a goal of creating 52 pieces of art this year. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they will all be good, but of course it would be great if that were the case. So far I’m up to 20 with a couple more in the works. I think I can surpass 52.

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Posted in Art Notes

The NC Museum of Art

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

I Ran Out of Titles # 21

acrylic and ink on paper; 6×6 in.

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Posted in Exhibitions, Paintings

New(ish) painting

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

“Blathergasted”

acrylic and ink on paper; 12×12 in.

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Posted in Paintings

Rejected pen designs

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Warren Hicks| Leave a comment

I was provided the opportunity to submit designs for Acme pens. Their products are in every museum and high-end gift shop. These were two of the designs that I personally thought were very strong but were summarily rejected.

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Posted in designs

Studio – Sept. 16th – 2011

NC Museum of Art

Studio – August 8th – 44″x44″

Studio July 23, 2011 – ?

Studio July 5th, 2011

Hmmmm

2012 solo exhibitions

new paintings – July 12th, 2011

ArtSpace – Raleigh

FRANK Gallery – Chapel Hill, NC

NC Museum of Art – Raleigh, NC

studio June 11th – 18th

Cameron Art Museum – Wilmington, NC

studio – new painting series

Happy Easter!

new painting – I Lost My Marbles

2009 exhibition at the VAE

Lazy Daze Arts and Crafts Festival

Studio – June 2009

the birth of Fur Gone Wild

Chairman Me

Michelle Bachmann and John Wayne Gacy

my studio at Golden Belt, August 2008

studio in Vermont

new painting

Summer Hot / Summer Not

2011 Goal

The NC Museum of Art

New(ish) painting

Rejected pen designs

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