My last communication was about the bachelor party I attended and my near death experience caused by the exotic dancer, Finger Lickin. If you missed it, it’s still on this Blog titled: The Party’s Over.

Since that time I have been fighting the disease Leukemia. The doctors have been punching holes into my Aarkonian flesh and bone. They measure and scratch their heads. They meet with each other, they collaborate, they sit at a table and stare at each other while scratching their heads, and finally agree on a diagnosis: “Whatever this thing is, it’s got a couple of Earth years left to live.”

I’m not convinced. We Aarkonians are a tough bunch. So, I’ve sent a distress signal to my home and have now resumed my mission: (Please pinch your nose here and slowly read the next sentence out loud:) “To observe the American Earthlings and report my findings to the King of Aarkon.”

I have followers of this Blog who are writers. I love writers, and I love writing about writers. Some people might call me a writer.

During the winter months I paint pictures. Some might call it art. Some people might call me an artist.

So that’s what I’ve been doing since I last communicated – Painting. Oh, I’ve had adventures to write about, and I will. But it’s winter, so I paint. Following are some of my latest works: Ragnar, Blind Date, Yogi Haira, and Red Heads.

After you see these and my other paintings on this site, you will most likely say something like, “Yikes. This is some weird shit.” Well, I have a surprise for you Mister, or Misses, or whatever you call yourself.

I have been juried and selected to be one of the artists who present and sell their creations at the prestigious art gallery known as: The Almont Gallery. Located in downtown Waukesha, Wisconsin, U.S.A. Here’s a link to the website: www.almontgallery.org.

Following is a press release called: Something About My Art.

Something About My Art

I’ve been told that my work is difficult to categorize. There are many beautiful paintings of still objects, landscapes, flowers or portraits and they bring a beauty and a compliment into the rooms we hang them in. I think that the difference in my art is that it doesn’t compliment the space as much as it will take over the room. I paint larger canvass and usually illustrate in bright, bold colors.

Art should stir something in us as well as please us. My paintings do that to a lot of people, especially when they read the titles of the work. For example: “No Body”, Crispy Saint, “Big Tease”, “Lonely Then Dead”, “Yogi Haira” and “Smells Like Fish”.

This is my favorite, and the most flattering, review of my paintings by William Bergemann: “Hicks’s paintings touch directly on the irreverence, irony and humor he brings to many of his subjects. His works not only possess a bright, piquant presence, but bring with them a smile and a wink.”

I invite you to experience some of my creations at Almont Gallery and then let me know what you think. Of course the best compliment you could give me is to buy my painting and take it home with you. Friends have asked me to reproduce my paintings with the titles on T-shirts. I’ve printed a few in limited quantities that will also be available at Almont Gallery.

Some day after you buy my painting, I hope that people who visit your home will point at it and say: “Wow. Is that an original Hicks?”

Tom Hicks

Following are pictures of me at my assigned gallery wall. (Note that I no longer wear my breathing device since my illness.)

Here’s another of me hanging the masterpiece: “Yogi Haira”.

I will be attending and observing as many Earthling religious services as possible over the next few weeks and reporting to the King. He gets a real kick from hearing about these each year. The King thinks you have only war gods because it seems that’s what Earthling religions call for. When I explained your 12^th century Christian Crusades, the King laughed for a long, long time.

There are no religions on Aarkon. There are no wars on Aarkon.

Happy Holidays!