Ian Hucke

Ian Douglas Hucke is a painter and senior Art Studio major at the University of New Mexico. His passion for painting portraits was ignited after tragedy.  In August 2017 before his junior year in college, Ian was hit by a car while crossing Lead Ave, heading home from campus. This near fatal accident changed everything for him. Although fortunate to have survived, Ian didn’t feel very fortunate. He spent months in multiple hospitals and missed his friends and making new ones. Ian discovered that painting could be an escape and also a vehicle for healing.  Pairing his love for meeting new people and all the time spent in busy waiting rooms, painting portraits of strangers became a natural fit.

For these portraits, Ian most often uses watercolor paint, adding texture and detail with graphite.  With his paintbrush and words, he tells a story. Each subject he paints is a real person, and he adds a fictional biographical vignette to create unique intrigue to his completed work. With this combination, he encourages others to see people more deeply.

Through his painting, Ian explores the human condition. He strives to portray the diversity and vulnerability of all people. Ian invites the viewer into a subject’s story hoping to promote understanding and acceptance. Often when an observer relates to some aspect of the subject’s story, an emotional connection is made which can offer healing. In his view, a person’s face is the public window into their soul and his work serves to connect us all.