Peter M. Hicks - Northern Landscape Artist - Homepage

WELCOME to the website of the artist Peter M. Hicks

Peter lives and works in the village of Danby in North Yorkshire in the heart of the North York Moors National Park. Visitors to Peter's studio in Danby by appointment are most welcome * 01287 660543

Some Peter's work is showing at the Lund Gallery as part of their "Worlds Apart" Exhibition from April 26th to May 25th 2008. The Lund Gallery is about 1.5 miles west of Easingwold, which itself, is about 13 miles north of York.

The Gallery - Index of paintings to view on-line

Click on the small pictures for a larger version.

Portfolio 1. Woodland studies of Hutton Mulgrave, Riccal Dale and the Eden Valley

Portfolio 2. Landscapes of Swaledale, Yorkshire Dales

Portfolio 3. Studies of Grosmont Woods and the Esk Valley, near Whitby, North Yorkshire

Portfolio 4. Landscapes of Malham, the Yorkshire Dales

 Portfolio 5. Potpourri of landscapes from North Yorkshire, The Dales and Cumbria and seascapes from the coast near Whitby

(Portfolio 5.  represents a summary of much of Peter's  Northern England work to date whether in acrylic washes or mixed media paintings)

Portfolio 6. Work based on the coast near St Ives, Cornwall

"I chose to concern myself as a painter of landscape as a means to communicate my ideas, feelings and aspirations - out of a need and towards some kind of fulfilment. My perception is caught between figuration and abstraction. I pare away specific things and work with the basic forces of my subject - its moods, light, rhythmic 'lie-of-the-land' and atmosphere." Peter M. Hicks

The inspiration for Peter Hicks painting work is strongly derived from the landscapes of the North Yorkshire Moors, the Yorkshire Dales and the eastern seascapes of North Yorkshire and Northumbria, following the footsteps of other Northumbrian visiting artists including the great Turner.

A Brief Biography

Peter Hicks has pursued a career as a professional painter for many years. He was head of a large Art Department at Queen Elizabeth College, Darlington, lectured extra mural for Durham and Hull Universities and compiled a publication on the Life and Work of the well known artist, Lilian Colbourn. As a result her work was shown in Cork Street, London.

"I work out of need and towards some kind of fulfilment. My perception is caught between figuration and abstraction, in a world where hints, hopes and promises abound. It aims at a coming together and promises an amalgam of many things; the known or familiar, an aspiration, a shared moment, or a memory. My stimulus remains the environment, particularly from places where thoughts intervene, etching their own patina upon familiar objects. The aim is to be a clear transparency to the ideas that come to thought. I subscribe to the belief that, though the forms of art change, the highest aspirations remain" Peter Hicks

"In Britain in the early years of the 20th century a rich seam of landscape painting sprang into being - largely informed by the new Modernist Movements in mainland Europe. Paul and John Nash, Graham Sutherland, David Jones, John Piper and Ivan Hitchins amongst many others showed that landscape painting could still be made relevant. My work in a small way is a continuance of that line of development."

"In my landscapes there are no people, animals, farms, fences, walls, gates or clearly identifiable things. Yet this is not a particularly new way of working, Paul Serusier and Cezanne successfully produced landscape paintings made from simple blocks of colour without descriptive information to create the image of landscape, in the late 19th century."

"The reason I work this way is because it gives me the opportunity to instill into the paintings ideas and feelings that concern me on many aspects of life. I work in the belief, like the abstract expressionists, that whatever goes into the painting, must inevitably come out and in the process of time, be felt and hopefully understood."

"The moods, marks and colours that pervade my work and form into familiar images, come from a landscape as much from within as from the one that is visible to all. This way the familiar becomes a gateway through which we can access the less immediately obvious."

"I subscribe to the belief that though the forms of art change the highest aspirations remain."

The landscapes and scenery of the Derbyshire Dales, The Lake District in Cumbria, The Yorkshire Dales, The Northern Pennines and The North Yorkshire Moors of Northern England have not only provided excellent walking and touring country for several hundred years but have also inspired the work of many artists whose paintings pay homage to the great natural beauty of the landscape around us. The work of such artists, in turn, has historically led to a greater interest and appreciation of the 'robust' landscapes of Northern England. The work of Peter Hicks should encourage to people to visit these wonderful scenic areas, and hopefully, those 'tourists' who know these areas well, appreciate his stunning interpretation of what is around them whether on foot or in the car!

Peter M. Hicks - Northern Landscape Artist

Assorted paintings - acrylics - mixed media - watercolours - examples of work to view online

If you have found the site of Peter Hicks useful OR have any problems using the site?

PLEASE EMAIL Phil Brown site updated April 22nd 2008

Images-photographs-pictures-photos-webshots © Dr W P Brown/Peter M. Hicks 2007

* Links to areas where Peter works  *  Yorkshire Dales-East Cumbria-North Pennines walking landscape scenes and notes  *  Whitby and surrounding area scenes and notes  *  York - scenes around the City  *  The River Esk Valley and North York Moors walking Landscapes  *  Fragments of Archaeology and History on the North Yorks Moors  *  Helmsley, Coxwold, Kirkbymoorside & Rievaulx Abbey Scenes  *  Pickering in Ryedale, North Yorkshire Scenes and notes  *  Lastingham, Hutton-le-Hole,Appleton-le-Moors Scenes  *  Malton in Ryedale & Howardian Hills Scenes in North Yorkshire  *  Sutton Bank National Park Centre (walks on North Yorks Moors)   *  Northern England-selected views  *  The excellent Esk Valley Lealholm Hall holiday cottage near Whitby  *

Peter Hicks contact details, map and exhibitions

Portfolio 1

Portfolio 2

Portfolio 3

Portfolio 4

Portfolio 5

Peter M. Hicks - Northern Landscape Artist - homepage

Visitors to Peter's studio in Danby by appointment are most welcome * 01287 660543