Hello!

Sharing the joys of nature and the great outdoors

My name is Steph Hicks and I'm an artist based on the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire borders at the foot of the Chiltern Hills.

An ideal day is spent in the great outdoors - foraging in the woods to cook most of what I find and draw the rest.

“I have always been drawn to the beauty of the wild, but I get really over-excited by mushrooms”

I've loved drawing, painting, crafting and creating since I was a child but it took a global pandemic for me to finally get back in touch with this long-lost hobby.

A close friend of mine can take all the credit for suggesting that I try painting the mushrooms which I spend hours looking for in the woods. The realisation that I could combine my love of foraging with my creative streak was the spark that got me drawing again.

After a few months of drawing to while away the dark evenings of lockdown, I decided to start sharing my work and ‘Drawn to the Wild’ was born. Exhibiting this work as part of Oxfordshire Artweeks 2021 was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and I’ve loved being part of the wonderful community of artists in Watlington where I held my first exhibition.

Several years down the line and Drawn to the Wild has continued to evolve. I’ve been working on commissions, exploring some new ideas, and building up a collection of Drawn to the Wild greetings cards, fine art prints and homeware. I’ve branched out to any flora or fauna which catches my eye but there seems to be a never-ending list of stunning plants and cute critters which I’m hoping to immortalise in pen and ink. I still love being able to engage with the beauty of the wild through my illustrations and can’t wait to see where my adventure into the art world will take me next.

I hope you like my work and would love to hear your comments.