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Rick Sikes’ recent artworks, including paintings from his “Sapience” series and prints from his comic book “Humbaba,”  are on display in the Glassblock Gallery in the Fred J. Taylor Library and Technology Center at the University of Arkansas at Monticello through April 1. On April 1 at 1 p.m. in the Visual and Performing Arts Center, Sikes will give a portrait demonstration, which is free and open to the public.

Sikes is a mixed-media artist and painter. He explores many genres in his works, including portraiture, plein-air painting, figure painting and illustration. In his most recent series, “Sapience,” he explores how an individual’s internal state affects their perception of reality. “Humbaba” is a four-part comic book series written and illustrated by Sikes. He describes it as “a forensic, mutated and supercharged romp in the Louisiana swamp as an honest man is manipulated by sinister forces and must redeem himself after unleashing an unspeakable evil.”

Sikes is a practicing artist and educator in Little Rock, Arkansas. He works as an art instructor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and earned his Master of Fine Arts degree in studio art from Louisiana Tech University’s School of Design in 2018. In 2010, he received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, specializing in illustration, at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design.

The Glassblock Gallery’s hours are Mondays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 3 to 4:30 p.m., Wednesdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.