Teri Hicks was born and raised in Arkansas. Teri loved art from the time she picked up her first crayon. She started drawing all the time and around age 7, she drew a picture of her sister. She just knew she was going to be famous because it was “so good”! When she got to the nose, she used up the entire eraser because she couldn’t get it right. Finally, in frustration, she just drew a pig nose on her and called it done. That drew lots of family laughs and attention to her artistic ability and she was hooked! She still struggles with noses, though. She took art in High School and painted the school mascot on the wall of the gymnasium and the ‘run-through’ for the football games. She loved painting! After graduating from Greenwood High School, Teri joined the Air Force and moved away. One of the places she lived was Anchorage Alaska, where she fell in love with the mountains and began painting them. She started painting on souvenir gold mining pans and realized that everyone in the family needed one for Christmas and that was when she realized how her painting could save money on gifts. She took some acrylic painting lessons from a local artist who was also in the Air Force and soon everyone was getting canvas paintings of the Alaskan mountains, railroads, and polar bears. Teri left the Air Force and started a family and had four children. Her husband was still in the Air Force, so they continued to travel. She painted a little, here and there, and fell in love with watercolor. Raggedy Ann and Andy were her first subjects in watercolor, followed by the Sesame Street bunch. Her children all had the same love for art and frequently were all on the floor with a roll of newsprint and markers. Art was always encouraged in her house. The last place the Air Force took her was Naples, Italy, where she spent more time traveling, learning Italian, eating pasta and shopping, than painting. After three years she came back to Arkansas, single, with four children. Art was definitely on the back burner. It was time to go back to work. After some time, Teri and her high school sweetheart, Phil, reunited and married, then moved to the country with their combined 6 children. She began working with her husband in their insurance office and still didn’t really paint much. She saw an article in the local paper about an art group meeting and she decided to check it out. After the first meeting, she was hooked again. She started painting whenever she could and hasn’t stopped. Teri and Phil were finally able to retire and they bought a home in Mount Ida, where they are surrounded by crystals, ponds and beautiful deer that occasionally pay them a visit. She now makes jewelry with those crystals and paints the deer by the pond or just sits on the porch with Phil and enjoys a glass of wine, but her paint brushes are never far away. Teri currently serves as the Vice President of the Ouachita Art Gallery.