Where to View Art in Hico, Texas

Where to view art in Hico, Texas.

With a population just under 1,400 people, Hico isn’t a place you would expect to find museum quality art. From local Texas painters and photographers to one-of-a-kind bronze sculptures, Hico has art on view for everyone.

On the corner of Pecan Street and 2nd Street in downtown Hico sits Eis, a charming sandwich shop offering handmade sandwiches, salads, and ice cream. Eis is housed in the same historic building as the 3 room Upstairs Inn, and Pecan Street Drink Shoppe.

Walking into Eis, you’ll find a wide variety of art on the colorful walls. From photography and painting to illustrations, there is always something interesting on view at Eis. You’ll even find an oversized hand painted flag featuring a woman riding a turkey (yee-haw!) hanging next to the drink station.

Eis proves that getting a bite to eat in a small town can be an artist experience, or just a really good lunch. While you’re there, don’t forget to try an ice cream cone, or get a scoop between two freshly baked cookies.

After you grab some lunch, walk next door to Pecan Street Drink Shoppe for wine, beer, spirits, and Texas snacks, including locally made raw milk artisan cheeses, jerky’s and a variety of local nuts.

Blue Star Trading has been defining Texas style with original art, handmade jewelry, custom home furnishings, and thoughtful gifts since 1999 in historic downtown Hico, Texas.

At Blue Star you’ll find museum quality art from Texas artists. Local painter Jerry McAdams has several paintings on view. Additionally, Jon Flaming has a retrospective of Hico on view, as well as other paintings and prints. Wyman Meinzer has his beautifully captured photos of Texas landscapes and wildlife on view. And David Iles bronze sculptures of Texas wildlife strike a stunning scene up against the colorful paintings of Texas.

While you’re there, make sure to stop in for a tour of the Historic Hico Museum in the beautifully restored upstairs.

Native Texan and local painter Jerry McAdams is one of the best known contemporary western artists in the country, especially in horse and ranching circles. His work has been featured on dozens of national magazine covers including The Cattleman, Gulf Coast Cattleman, America’s Cutter, Ruidoso and NCHA Sale Catalogs. As well as featured in Cowboys & Country, The Western Horseman, The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth Star-Telegram and many other publications.

Working mainly in acrylics, his subjects range from contemporary scenes of horses, cattle, and ranches to portraits of family pets. His artwork has been marketed and exhibited on a limited basis for more than 35 years in the Southwest. His paintings hang at The University of  Texas and in galleries and private collections around the entire United States, as well as Canada, England, Australia, and Germany.

Jon Flaming was born on December 2, 1962 in Wichita, Kansas. His family moved to Texas in 1968. Visits to his grandparent’s Kansas ranch as a boy made a strong impression. It was here that Jon first experienced small town America and the rural countryside and began to capture its unique character and beauty with his camera and sketchbook. “My earliest memories are of rural, middle America,” says Flaming, referencing his grandparents’ Kansas cattle ranch and his many visits there.

Primarily self-taught, Jon’s work has been influenced by a number of artists including William Lester, Everett Spruce, Otis Dozier, Stuart Davis & Marsden Hartley. He works in oil, acrylic and also found materials.

In 1985 Jon graduated from Texas State University with a bachelor’s degree in design and for the last 30 years has been creating award-winning images and branding campaigns for many clients including Neiman Marcus, Pizza Hut, The John Wayne Cancer Foundation, The John Wayne Film Festival, Forbes, JCPenney, FedEx, MiltonBradley and Pepsi. His work has been recognized and published by numerous organizations including Communication Arts, Print Magazine, Graphis, and the The Society of Illustrators. Just recently, the John Wayne family asked Jon to partner with them on promoting the John Wayne Brand.

Jon’s fine art is in the permanent collection of the Tyler Museum of Art, The Grace Museum in Abilene and also the San Angelo Museum of Fine Art. His work is also in many private & public collections and has been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows.

Wyman Meinzer exists almost without definition. But if we had to pin him down, there’s no word that describes him better than Texan. A hunter, trapper, marksman, and outdoor pioneer, Wyman captures the dig-your-heels-in determination and appreciation for the land that can be found in those that call Texas home.

Wyman Meinzer is the only official State Photographer of Texas, named so in 1997 by the Texas State Legislature and then Gov. George W. Bush, an honor he still holds today. He was raised on the League Ranch, a 27,000-acre ranch in the rolling plains of Texas. Since then, he has traveled to every corner of this great state and all points in between in search of the first and last rays of sunlight in its magnificent sweep across the Texas landscape.

David Iles creates and casts his sculpture out of his Studio and foundry in Bolivar Texas.

His work can be seen in public collections at the Dallas Arboretum, The Texas Sculpture Garden at Hall Office Park, The University of North Texas, The City of Irving and the Denton Public Library, as well as many private collections that include Trammell Crow and Frito Lay. Most recently, David’s Morning Star Quail and Roadrunner we installed in the Luci and Ian Family Garden in the Wildflowers Center in Austin.

Blue Star is proud to announce that David Iles and Blue Star Trading have collaborated and want to introduce our New Bronze Collection. When you purchase one of the bronze sculptures, ten percent of the purchase price of these sculptures will be donated to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center to support the conservation of native plants.

Flacas Fitness & Brews is a restaurant and fitness studio in the heart of downtown Hico, Texas. Satisfy your hunger with real tasty food including fresh salads, sandwiches, quesadillas, nachos, street tacos and wraps. Sip on Texas craft beer and wine, smoothies, and sodas while listening to live music from local musicians or take a walk through the art gallery.

Housed in the historic two-story 1895 Opera House, Hico Mercantile is a collection of shops with farmhouse home decor, unique gifts, men’s and women’s apparel, candles, jewelry and more. Among the vintage treasures and modern day farmhouse decor are paintings by Audrey Caylor. Audrey is a Texas artist whose paintings are shown in galleries as well as homes across Texas. Audrey does commission work as well as her own subject matter, which include animals and landscapes.

Hill Country Dwellings designs and furnishes custom homes in the Texas Hill Country. Their retail store is located on tree-lined Pecan Street in historic downtown Hico, Texas. Offering home decor, gifts, and clothing, Hill Country Dwellings is also home to original art by Mary Gregory. Mary said this about her art, “We live in a beautiful world and much of it, especially the small things, goes unnoticed. It is my joy to point them out.”

You can find Mary’s original paintings, as well as prints in Hill Country Dwellings in historic downtown Hico, Texas.