Smelter Creek Art Company featured artist Bret Hicks
Pursuing the beauty of God’s creations through art
Smelter Creek Art Company featured artist Bret Hicks
Pursuing the beauty of God’s creations through art
About the artist
Bret’s Background
Wildlife Artist Bret Hicks has been interested in wildlife, art and carving all his life. His father is a talented artist and wood sculptor who mentored Bret in these disciplines. Bret carved his first bird at the age of ten. Bret’s father and mother cultivated his love of drawing, painting and carving by ensuring he had access to the tools, supplies and inspiration needed to pursue his craft.
Later in life, Bret began competing as a wildfowl artist with the Pacific Flyway Decoy Association. Bret began winning awards at these competitions and that ignited a burning passion for this art form. Bret became a carving instructor with the PFDA and helps teach carving seminars to people new to decoy carving.
Always seeking to improve his skills, in 2017 Bret attened the Vermont Raptor Academy where he carved a life-sized Peregrine Falcon under the watchful eye of Master Carver Floyd Scholz. Bret continues to hone his skills and frequently posts his current projects on Facebook and Instagram.
The Medium
Bret uses mostly wood and acrylic paint to create his sculptures. Most of the sculptures or decoys have glass eyes. His decorative sculptures have carved and burned feather details. Some epoxy and metal are used to make feet and reinforce structural portions of the sculptures.
Bret is also a talented with flat art. The background for the heading of this site is a watercolor painting of his.
Bret often sketches and makes clay mockups of his sculptures before carving them in wood.
His Inspiration
Bret believes in the Biblical God of creation, Jesus the Christ. He is in awe of the natural beauty and brilliance of His design. He attempts to capture a moment in nature so it can be brought inside and enjoyed. His art serves as a tangible reminder of what awaits us when we venture away from our home and jobs and explore the natural world. Bret enjoys seeking wildfowl in nature and photographing them. These photographs are used as research and reference for his sculptures. A great amount of studying must be done both in the field and in the studio in order to create such life-like replications of God’s creations.
Several of Bret’s sculptures are on display and available for purchase at the East Fork Gallery located at
1503 US Hwy 395 North #K
Gardnerville, NV 89410
775 782-7629
easrforkgallery.com