A closer look at Logan Hicks' creative process

Can you tell us a little about yourself and your artistic practice?

I'm Logan Hicks, a stencil painter based in New York. I'm also a photographer.

What is your background and how did you get into design?

I went to the Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore to study classical art, and when I graduated I set up a screen-printing business specializing in textiles. It was boring work, but I loved the process and enjoyed working for myself, so I returned to my artwork, but this time using silkscreen as my medium. I focused on using an industrial production method to make my work. I tried stencils in 1999 and realized it was the perfect medium for me. It was a similar process to screen printing, but allowed me to control more variables. From then on, I used stencils exclusively.

In your daily work as an artist, what inspires you? What triggers the creation of a work?

My environment inspires me. Normally, it's linked to the travel I do, but the year 2020 has changed that dynamic a little and I'm exploring my city, New York, more and more.

I like to find the quiet corners of a city. Places where you can find harmony. Where you can find beauty. I like to show how people react to the environment they themselves have created. I see the city as a man-made organism with a life of its own. It grows, breathes and lives with its own uniqueness. My work tries to capture this.

Can you explain how you create a work of art? What are the different stages of creation?

I work in 4 stages. The first is to take a reference photo of the place I want to paint. This involves traveling to different countries, exploring places, visiting new places.

The second step is to idealize the photo and work with it until it becomes the final image I want to paint. It's a pretty boring part, a lot of time spent in front of the computer to transform the photo into an image similar to the final painting.

The third step is to create the stencils I need for the painting. It's a time-consuming process that demands absolute precision. A mistake on one stencil can sabotage the whole piece.

The fourth step is to spray the stencils to create the paint. This is the fun part. This is where I make decisions about how to layer colors, emphasize specific areas of the composition, determine the weight of the paint, and so on. It's this stage that I enjoy the most.

With my work, I enjoy the mix between the technical side (working on the computer and making the stencils) and the creative side (taking the photos and spraying them). I see my work as a yin-yang collaboration. These two different approaches make the work stronger.