MARKiX Paint Tube Illustration
Mark A. Hicks
award-winning artist and illustrator


I have many years of professional artistic experience that includes illustrating children's books, creating art for magazines, textbooks, greeting cards, education clip art, murals, storyboards, and much, much more. 

I’m also a hereditary cancer awareness and prevention advocate. After becoming my wife’s cancer caregiver and then losing her to the evil disease caused by a BRCA2 mutation in 2021, my life was turned upside down. Tragically, her cancer was preventable. Now, because of what happened to my wife and because my child inherited the same BRCA2 mutation, I am speaking up and focusing on communication and cascade genetic testing among blood relatives when there’s a history of cancer. Nobody should die of a preventable cancer. Nobody!

some random info...

AZ Flag Thumb Roomer Room Disneyland 1965

I was born and raised in Arizona. (Meet my original character Gila Ben on my Arizona website for students and teachers.)

 

I was on Romper Room School twice. (More info here.) I met, shook hands and briefly chatted with Walt Disney at a chance encounter during Disneyland's
Tencennial when I was 7. 
I have interesting ancestors, confirmed by a paper trail. 

On my maternal side, my 9th-great-grandmother was Susanna White of the Mayflower. Susanna was one of only four women to survive that first year.

On my paternal side, Gelelemend (aka John Killbuck) was a Lenape (Delaware) Chief and an important patriot ally during the American Revolutionary War. He was my 6th great-grandfather.

Needless to say, I have some conflicting feelings about the Thanksgiving holiday.

20+ year member SCBWI
Member
Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators

FAQ's

How do I contact you?
How do I license your art or character designs for my product?
Have you won any awards?
Where can I buy your books?
I want to be a freelance illustrator, can you offer any advice? 
I've written a children's book, can you illustrate it for me?
Are you the same Mark Hicks...
Do you have a blog?
Do you have a dream project?
Can I buy original art from books, etc.?

How do I contact you?

Just click here

How do I license your art or character designs for my product?.

Click here. 

Have you won any awards?

A few. Click here to view some of them.

Do you ever put new samples up on your site?

Occasionally I'll post a new published piece or two. Usually it's on my art blog, CarefreeArtist.com. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous Internet users seem to think that just because artwork is online it is in the public domain and free for them to use as they like. This forces me to limit the amount of work I have online. However, it doesn't mean I don't have lots of illustration samples to show to prospective art buyers. Please contact me.

Where can I buy your books?

Click here to go to a page that lists many of my book titles with links to books available for purchase.

I want to be a freelance illustrator, can you offer any advice?

Yes, I can offer you some advice as well as words of encouragement.
Click here.

I've written a children's book, can you illustrate it for me?

Maybe. I prefer to work through an established publishing house. However, I know sometimes really great book ideas are rejected* and that self-publishing is an option. Contact me

*FYI trivia: Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit was self-published because it had been rejected several times. The self-published book sold well. Before long, it was picked up by one of the publishers that had originally rejected it, Frederick Warne and Co.

Are you the same Mark Hicks...

 ...that authored books about fishing? No.

 
...the actor/stuntman? No. (Although I was on Romper Room School two times when I was five. Yes, that's right, I was of Romper Room School twice. But not because I failed class the first time. I was asked back to substitute for another child. See one of my Romper Room photos here.)

 
...the minister? OMG, heck no.     

Do you have a blog? 

Yes, go to CarefreeArtist.com

Do you have a dream project?

I actually have many... I would like to finish work on some of my own book ideas, do more paintings and sculptures, and do a lot more art just for art's sake. I hope to have the means some day to expand my project of providing free art supplies and materials to children and adults coping with challenging illnesses. (The project is called Art Mends and here's what I've done so far.)  I'd also would love to own a large track of picturesque Arizona land where I could create an artist retreat. A place with several individual studios and a main gallery. I originally thought it a place where established and emerging artists could come and stay to find inspiration and solitude. However, after my late wife's cancer diagnosis, I thought maybe it could be where cancer patients and cancer caregivers could come for an artistic respite. After all art mends.

Can I buy original art from your books, etc.?

Not yet. I need to catalog all my artwork first. I have created literally thousands of works of art over the years for so many different publications that it will take time to figure out what I want to sell. 

Sample art of Mark A. Hicks, illustrator

Portfolio
A few samples from years of published award-winning  illustration work.

Children's Books
View and purchase some of the more than 25 books I have illustrated for various publishers.

Coloring Pages
Links to over 100 free printable coloring and activity pages.

My Online Art Journal

CarefreeArtist.com
EducatorClips.com features some of the best whimsical clip art, formerly featured at Discovery (Channel) Education, that educators can download for free use. NPS Volunteer illustrator
Samples and information about my award-winning Jr. Ranger Book artwork, artist-in-residence, and other art projects
Holiday Cards
Creating fun and whimsical greeting cards for the holidays is a passion and a specialty.

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