Hixson’s connection to oranges is rooted in a family tradition passed down through generations. Each Christmas, his grandparents gifted him oranges, a gesture born from his grandfather’s childhood, when the fruit was rare, seasonal, and considered a treasured luxury. Hixson grew up sharing in that same sense of wonder, delighting in the vibrant citrus imported from Georgia. Those oranges, bursting with a flavor that felt truer and more unmediated than anything found in stores today, became symbols of nature’s generosity and of a joy that felt both simple and profound.

This series began with a still-life study, an attempt to honor those memories through direct observation. But as Hixson painted, he became captivated by the way the pigments blended and spiraled, forming unexpected colors and rhythms. Trusting a gut instinct, he moved beyond representation and embraced a process of intuitive layering, allowing each iteration to respond to the last. Through this gradual abstraction, the fruit transformed into vivid orbits of color and movement.

The resulting works merge energetic linework, bold childlike hues, and constellations of white dots that trace the moments between savoring each orange. In this layered evolution, Hixson translates nostalgic sensory memory into visual pulse, capturing the excitement, purity, and luminous magic that surrounded the oranges of his youth.