Tom and Wes

Between Breath and Step

December 2025, Acrylic on Canvas, 18"x 24"

Weathered, but Still Open

December 2025, Acrylic on Canvas, 18"x 24"

In this pair of paintings, Hixson explores two distinct but interconnected ways of seeing, one through movement and abstraction, the other through stillness and presence. Both works center on Wes, a horse shaped by trauma, and Tom, the rider who chose connection over control, believing that trust is built through bonding rather than breaking.

The first painting presents Tom and Wes together within a loosely abstracted landscape. Broad, gestural brushstrokes dissolve the environment into shifting forms, allowing motion, intuition, and emotional rhythm to take precedence over precise detail. The figures emerge and recede simultaneously, mirroring the evolving nature of their relationship. In this work, the act of riding is not portrayed as dominance but as a shared movement, an ongoing conversation between two beings learning how to listen to one another.

In contrast, the second painting isolates Wes in a still, intimate portrait. Here, Hixson slows the pace entirely, focusing on the horse’s gaze, posture, and quiet resilience. Removed from the rider and the surrounding landscape, Wes is no longer defined by action but by presence. The careful attention to detail invites the viewer to encounter the horse not as a subject to be used, but as an individual carrying memory, vulnerability, and healing within his body.

Together, these paintings form a meditation on trust, recovery, and alternative models of care. By juxtaposing abstraction with realism, movement with stillness, and partnership with solitude, Hixson reflects on the ways healing unfolds, sometimes through connection, and sometimes through simply being seen.