A Night Out on the Town, 2013

Ron Hicks is an American oil painter who takes after 19th century French impressionists. I stumbled across him across while researching Alex Kanevsky.

Comparatively, I find Hicks' work a lot more romanticized in a way that I really like, with dramatic, entwining figures and beautifully expressive portraits that recall the early stars of cinema romances. The emotions he conveys suggest larger conversations and relationships, and since storytelling happens to be my favorite application of art, I'm drawn immediately to his paintings.

Twilight Conversation, 2013

Hicks' goal is to “keep [his] work as fresh and new as possible," which I find interesting since his paintings could easily be called "dated" due to the romance novel-esque melodrama he prefers to depict. Disregarding this, I think that passion itself is a timeless subject for impressionism, and I admire that he pursues it without losing great historical influences like Degas. Hicks' brush strokes flow in a sculptural way that entwines shapes together, giving them form and life and filling the paintings with energy. I think his technique is enough to invigorate the subjects with "freshness," and I love the charm of his pictorial romances.

Plaza in Milan, 2013

What I like most about Hicks' work is his use of subdued light and color, his great framing and compositions which lead the eye across the piece, and his gestural application of paint; these are all things that add to the clarity and emotional effectiveness of his narratives. It's no surprise to me that he worked as a freelance illustrator after finishing his art degree, and I'd like to keep his techniques in mind for future paintings.