Brian Hibbard ended up in North Carolina, after trying to literally walk away from his

art. He and his wife planned to hike across America. They started in California after

training on the east coast, but after a few days striding over unfamiliar, rocky terrain,

their feet blistered and split. They gave up, bought a Westphalia van, lost it to a

thief in Colorado, and ended up living in a camper perched atop a mountain.

Compared to that, Hibbard's life, years later, seems downright stable. He's standing outside

his solar-paneled studio dressed in a utilitarian ensemble of polar fleece, navy twill and

hiking boots. If the paint streaks on his clothes were dirt instead, he might easily be

mistaken for a hand on the Santa Fe ranch where he refined his work ethic.

Instead of replacing the art he had studied during his college years, Hibbard's sojourn in the

Southwest returned him to it with a renewed sense of focus. Since coming back to his

Southern roots and staking his claim on a beautiful farm in North Carolina, the man in the

primer-striped shorts has become one of the most in-demand, talented and hard-working

artists in the region.

This North Carolina artist takes a modern approach to classical painting, depicting rural

landscapes, regal horses and rustic barns. Hibbard has a methodical, workmanlike

approach to his vocation, which he pursues through even the occasional bout of artist's

block. Hibbard prides himself on meeting deadlines and returning phone calls in a timely

manner. Even in this recession ,"It's amazing how busy I've stayed". Hibbard says. "Since

I do this full-time, I'm able to jump on opportunities when they come up. If somebody

calls, I try within a day or week to jump on it. I really take pride in that".

And the calls have been coming. Hibbard is currently represented by 14 galleries across

the country. Even though he's stayed busy, it is not all toil. Hibbard makes time for flashes

of inspiration by taking a drive in his old military painted Chevy. These jaunts in the

country often become the muse for his latest series of landscape paintings or metal

sculptures. Outside his studio overlooking lush green fields, two sculptures, a horse made

from motorcycle parts and other found metal objects and the gigantic head of a woman,

languish in the afternoon sun. Inside, the walls are donned with paintings that are a true

feast for the eyes.

Although he experiments with nontraditional media and abstraction, the artist’s touchtone

is classical technique. Birds, Horses and organic figurative works make up his oeuvre of

classical, yet modern pieces as well as ethereal tributes to the great outdoors. Hibbard

works on panel, not canvas, for most of his paintings. For some of the figurative pieces,

Hibbard employs experimental media like tar, mineral spirits and resin. He emphasizes

the sculptural element even more in some of his abstract work, like one painting caked

with broken bottles and resin. Writer Orson Scott Card said it best when describing

Brian’s work as having “an interesting palette of muted colors that include a strange,

metallic brown that suggest copper. His trees and clouds are rimmed with slight

shadowing that is... at once representational and yet theatrical. I fell in love with all of his

work." We believe you will too.