We’re excited to talk to Da Vinci Paints Ambassador Artist Joyce Hicks, the curator of several popular Da Vinci watercolor palettes and personalized colors. In addition to her watercolor options, Joyce recently debuted her Signature Da Vinci Oil Palette, a set of 12 custom curated colors.

Joyce is an award winning artist and a signature member of the American Watercolor Society. Through her colorful paintings of still lifes and landscapes, Joyce shares with viewers her positive outlook, cheerful gratitude, and exuberance of living “on this magical planet we call home.”

Coastal town watercolor painting by Da Vinci Paint Ambassador Artist Joyce Hicks — Peonies in Pennsylvania watercolor painting by Joyce Hicks

Joyce, welcome! I believe that you started painting later in life, and you’ve also mentioned that you are a self-taught artist. Please share a little bit about when and why you began painting.

Shortly after my husband and I retired in 1998, along the winding Pacific Coast Highway, I saw beauty that I never imagined. This ignited a powerful desire to somehow share the joy I was feeling, and I became passionate to find a way to do it. My quest led me to a small coastal art gallery where I stood before an amazing watercolor painting with glowing, transparent color that evoked the same intense feelings I was experiencing. I quickly found that putting these feelings onto paper with a brush full of paint was not going to be as easy as it looked, but my chance encounter with that painting and my introduction to Da Vinci paints would ultimately give me a way to share my personal vision and message with others.

You once mentioned that when you began painting, you mistakenly purchased the least expensive paint that you could find. You now use high quality Da Vinci paints that are still affordable, even for beginning artists, so what advice would you give to brand new artists?

As a new artist, it seemed unwise to purchase quality materials until I reached a certain level of expertise. Unfortunately, this assumption slowed my artistic growth because I faulted myself for lackluster results. I didn’t realize that the pure pigment ratio in professional paint will go much farther and give more brilliance than any student-grade paint. After a couple of disappointing years, I was fortunate to meet an exceptional artist who inspired me to try Da Vinci paints, and it wasn’t long before my work begin to reflect the same luminous, transparent quality. I was finally able to express the love I had for the subjects I chose to paint.

Long Shadows at Los Olivos oil painting by Joyce Hicks

Preliminary value sketches are important steps in your artistic process. What about these sketches helps you view the world differently and guides you in your paintings, and how did your Da Vinci Signature palette color choices evolve from this process?

The successful outcome of my paintings is dependent upon the important preliminary work that I always do. Value sketches and color studies are essential because they give me time to become acquainted with my subject before attempting to paint it. During the sketching process, I begin to envision what my subject might look like in full color, and I use Da Vinci paints to render as many small color studies as needed until I am satisfied with my color choices. For a more creative outcome and to get the signature look that my work is known for, I never paint from photos but use my own sketches and color studies as references.

You seem to be quite the traveler, and at one time, you and your husband lived on the road in your RV. You currently offer two Da Vinci palettes that are very pocket-sized and portable, your Mother Violet and Mother Green palettes. How does going out into the world help with your creative process, and which of your palettes do you recommend when plein air painting or traveling?

When choosing subjects to paint, I am more interested in how a place makes me I feel than I am about how it looks. When I am in the landscape, I keep my camera and sketchbook close to record any view that can stop me in my tracks and make me want to paint it. My signature collection of Da Vinci watercolor palettes are small and sturdy, making them especially perfect for plein air work. My Mother Green and Mother Violet palettes gives artists a wonderful array of warm and cool greens plus infinite possibilities for soft, pearly grays to use to describe the landscape.

(Learn more about Joyce’s Mother Violet watercolor at our feature post.)

Roses and Lilac Bouquet watercolor painting by Joyce Hicks

Your choice and use of color is obviously one of the most imaginative aspects of your artwork. You’ve mentioned that you view color as a communication tool, that color “has the ability to evoke a wide range of emotions within the viewer.” When choosing and developing your Signature palette colors, what were the main emotions that you hope these colors convey when one views these colors in your art or uses them to create their own artwork?

It was once said of my work, “Your paintings are like little vacations to gaze upon.” I want to paint places of respite for those yearning for a slower pace, far away from the fast lane we often find ourselves in today. The colors found in my signature palettes are carefully chosen for their ability to blend with one another in unique and beautiful ways, colors that can awaken a yearning for that same sense of peace felt when viewing my work.

On your website, you write that you enjoy visualizing places and things in a very idealistic way. For example, you’ll capture subjects in sunlight to discover their real beauty, and you’ll change a withered bloom into a trellis full of roses. What drives your positive outlook of the world, and how can others join you and share the experience?

What drives me is a passion to share the gift of art and my ability to uncover beauty where it may seem there is none. My wish is not to teach others to paint like me but to help them find a pathway to their own unique creativity so they may also share a message of joy and gratitude for this beautiful world. I invite everyone to join me on my artful journey, and for those who wish to learn more about my concepts for creating artwork, visit my social media pages and my website where you will find many educational guides and videos.