"Z" is for Zenith - A to Z Challenge

"Stormy Skies" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Today is the last day of the A to Z Blog Challenge 2015, so I feel a little sad. It's been fun and productive for the heroine of my new book, Evening of the Dragonfly, to create an art show to go along with book signings. For Farrah Ferand, this exhibition will be the zenith of her young art career. She hopes there will be many more zeniths yet to come.

"Stormy Skies" is the last of 19 new paintings produced for Farrah's show, "The Awakening". It is a vibrant painting, full of life and new hope beneath a stormy sky, a symbol of her life in the past.

I hope the paintings created during the Challenge have inspired interest in Farrah Ferand and her story, Evening of the Dragonfly. During this month, I've learned a lot about Farrah that I didn't already know. I hope you've enjoyed following her art journey, but please note that the art on the book cover is mine, not Farrah's.

Today's painting, "Stormy Skies", is acrylic on stretched canvas, 36" x 18". It might be hung as part of a diptych.

Sedona diptych ©Mary Montague Sikes

    



                                                   

"Y" is for Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow - A to Z Challenge

We are nearing the end of the A to Z Challenge which has brought new energy and more paintings to my studio. The art exhibition works for Farrah Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly, are almost completed. Farrah's Show, planned to accompany some of my book signings, should be interesting. I need a title for it. Perhaps it should be "Farrah's Evening of the Dragonfly" or something less obvious. In the book, her show is called, "The Awakening".

For today's work, Farrah had a troublesome time.Yesterday, a painting that included the Chapel of the Holy Cross was planned and started. It simply did not work, so this morning, time was spent in paint overs and new beginnings. The resulting canvas is now a painting in progress that will be finished for the final posting tomorrow. Hopefully, it will work as a diptych with the first Sedona painting.

Although 19 paintings have been created, there is much more work to be done to have them all ready for a show. That's why "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" is so appropriate for the "Y" post. Once a painting is completed, the sides (if it's gallery-wrapped) must be painted or finished in some way. The watercolors need to be sprayed with workable fixative, then one or more coatings of a polymer finish will be applied. The acrylics must have a UV coating. Then, screws and wires need to be attached to the back. As you can see, to complete the project, several "tomorrows" will be involved.

What are your suggestions for a title for Farrah's exhibition? I would love to have ideas.

"Sedona 2" (detail) ©Mary Montague Sikes

This is not all of the canvas for today's painting, and the rocks will not be this orange in the finished piece. The total stretched, gallery-wrapped canvas is 36" x 18".

"X" is for X-Factor (Not TV) - A to Z Challenge

"Red Rock Country" ©Mary Montague Sikes

"X" is for X-Factor, and I don't mean the hit TV series. As an artist, I consider the X-Factor as something completely different. It is the incomprehensible element sometimes found in art we've come to love. I don't know what it is; I can't touch nor explain it, but when it's there you know it.

The X-Factor is the special element that Farrah Ferand, the heroine in Evening of the Dragonfly, is seeking in the final pieces of work she's completing for her art exhibition. "Red Rock Country" features Farrah's love for a place she's never seen. With juicy Golden fluid acrylic paints, she uses her Colorism technique to describe the beauty and serenity of the West. This painting is 36" x 18" and could become half of a diptych, if Farrah decides to go in that direction.

Yesterday, you saw a detail from this painting that was in an horizontal format. The completed painting is vertical. Which way do you like it better?

"W" is for Wonders of the World - A to Z Challenge

"Wonders of the World, Sedona AZ" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Throughout the month of April, Farrah Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly, has painted her way into the reality of regressed memories. Using the imagery in her paintings, she has come to realize and understand elements from her past. Now, as she nears completion of her one-person art exhibition, Farrah is ready for new beginnings. Her last two paintings will be about wonders of her world.

Although Farrah has never traveled to the Southwest, she is intrigued by that part of our country. She once read the Zane Grey stories of the West, and she enjoys movies set there. The Red Rock country of Sedona, Arizona especially appeals to her. The final paintings for her show are joyful ones created with juicy Golden acrylic paints on stretched canvas. Today's art in her "Wonders of the World" is a detail from a Sedona painting she will finish for tomorrow. This work is 36" x 18".

(Sedona is one of my favorite destinations. For this project, as I looked through some of the photographs I've taken there, I felt a little homesick.)

If you have just joined this blog journey:
Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"V" is for Vanished and Vanquished - A to Z Challenge

"The Vanished and the Vanquished" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Vanished and vanquished are "V" words for Farrah Ferand's exhibition painting challenge. Farrah is the heroine of  Evening of the Dragonfly, my romance with underlying psychodrama. As she paints, bits and pieces of her regressed memories resurface. Today's painting, "The Vanished and the Vanquished," is important in her memory recovery. Her mother's death occurred in a car driven into a lake near the country home in Mississippi where Farrah grew up. Her mother vanished and with that loss, much else was vanquished from her life.

One of the meanings of vanquish is "to gain mastery over" a passion, an emotion, a fear. As she paints for her one-person show, Farrah is vanquishing her fear of the unknown, her fear of the past, and much more.

"The Vanished and the Vanquished," mixed water media and pencil on canvas, 24" x 36", is one of the two largest paintings in Farrah's show. Those of you who really liked the details posted earlier from this painting might be disappointed at the changes. Layering colors and images makes a big difference in the final piece of art. Sometimes it's hard but necessary to make changes in the details of work you already love!

A lot is going on in this painting. See what the imagery means to you.

"U" is for Universe - A to Z Challenge

Painting in progress detail ©Mary Montague Sikes

"U" is for the Universe. What a vast meaning that covers.

"All space-time, matter, and energy, including the solar system, all stars and galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space, regarded as a whole" is a dictionary definition of universe.


"A sphere of interest, activity, or understanding" is another segment of the definition. That's the definition that pertains to Farrah Ferand, heroine of my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly. For her, at the moment, the universe is her studio where she creates new paintings and parts of new paintings everyday. 

Farrah's painting for today is a detail from the larger painting (24" x 36") that she started yesterday. As she paints and sprays Robert Doak watercolors, her past and her extended universe become clearer. Also, her relationship with her family and with Dirk Lawrence, the mysterious stranger she has grown to love grow clearer as well. 

Tomorrow the entire new painting will be revealed. I don't know yet how the colors and imagery will change, but they will. It will be an artwork in tribute to and memory of the Vanished.

"T" is for Trials and Tribulations - A to Z Challenge

Painting Detail ©Mary Montague Sikes

"The road of life is never without trials and tribulations." This is a quote from an unknown source. People can face trials and tribulations and learn from them or they can let the unfortunate episodes of life get them down. Some people choose happiness; others fall into despair. Attitude makes all the difference.

Farrah Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly, has faced many trials and tribulations during her lifetime. She is learning from her trials and tribulations as she paints the work for her one person art show. The piece for today is a detail from her current painting that will be one of the largest in the show, 24" x 36". It's another watercolor on canvas using Robert Doak intense watercolors. The plan is for this painting to be completed by Saturday. So far, there is no name for the finished work, but creating it is helping Farrah overcome her trials and tribulations.

"S" is for Sunrise - A to Z Challenge

"Sunrise" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Today's painting is a change of page for Farrah Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly. Sunrise represents new beginnings for her. The dark of night is gone, and anything is possible with a new day. Farrah has brought lots of baggage with her for her new life in Virginia. As she paints her one-person exhibition work, she is creating the opportunity for new beginnings.

"Sunrise" is acrylic on a 20" x 16" stretched canvas. I have found that traveling between watercolor and acrylics for my mediums is more difficult than I expected. The two painting processes are quite different for me. I love the feel and the smell of my thick, juicy acrylic Golden fluid acrylics. I also enjoy the development of compositions as I spray the beautiful and intense colors of the Robert Doak watercolors. It's easier for me to work in one style for a period of time. Two years ago, I painted an animal a day, all working with acrylics except for one pastel painting on paper that I didn't like as well and later recreated in acrylic on canvas. That was an easier process.

For those of you who have just joined this blog journey:
Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"R" is for Repressed Memories

"Repressed Memories" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The letter "R" was especially difficult for Farrah and me. I went through many different words while deciding what would work best for today's painting. I considered and discarded restoration, resolution, realistic, and many other possibilities. Eventually, I settled on "repressed memories" which is a theme difficult to convey in a painting. The darkest part of the story of Farrah Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly, is her journey to deal with repressed memories. Therefore, this is the darkest painting thus far in the series created for her one-person exhibition.

"Repressed Memories" features Robert Doak intense watercolors on canvas. It is 16 x 20 inches.

"Q" is for Quiet - A to Z Blog Challenge

"Quiet" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Farrah Ferand, the heroine of my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly, continues to work in her studio as she creates a series of paintings for her one-person show in the Richmond art gallery. For "Q" Farrah has returned to her Colorism-style, working with Golden fluid acrylic paints on canvas.

During a winter snowstorm, she enjoyed the quiet and serenity that settled over her street as snowflakes collected on the ground and in the trees. Growing up in Mississippi, Farrah had never before seen snow. Now, she needs to capture the feeling of quiet in her painting. The colors she selects create a lively "quiet" for her.

What do you think? Does Farrah's painting represent "quiet"?







For those of you who have just joined this blog journey:
Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"P" is for Portal to Peace - A to Z Challenge

"Portal to Peace" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Portals have long fascinated me, and I often use them in my paintings. As a young child, Farrah Ferand, the main character in Evening of the Dragonfly, remembers overhearing a conversation between her mother and her grandfather. He told Martha Ferand about his belief that Earth was the war planet where souls come to fight. Her mother said that somewhere in the Universe there must be a "portal to peace". That thought stuck with the seven-year-old, and she transcribes the vision from her imagination into a painting for her one-person show. (Although this scene is not an actual one from the book, Farrah's back story makes her into the character she becomes in my novel.)

"Portal to Peace" is 20 x 16 inches, mixed water media on canvas. It's painting number twelve for the exhibition being created during the A to Z Challenge project.

"O" is for Optimism - A to Z Challenge

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” I love this quote from Winston Churchill.

Optimism.

When Farrah Ferand, my heroine from Evening of the Dragonfly, sees a dragonfly or groups of them, she feels optimism. Although they seem somehow connected to the death of her grandfather and then the death of her mother, she believes sighting of the dragonflies is like seeing the spirits of her departed loved ones.
They are a symbol of their love. They bring her optimism.

"Optimism" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Do you have symbols that bring you joy? Are you an optimist, or do you see pessimism in everything?

"N" is for Neverland - A to Z Challenge

"Mystical Neverland" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Neverlands are fictional locations in the minds of children, according to J. M. Barrie, author of the play Peter Pan and the 1911 novel Peter and Wendy. These places are not the same from one child to another. For me, Neverlands alway involve trees and the sanctuary found in the woods. I look out the window from my writing studio into a Neverland, and I treasure it.

For Farrand Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly, woods and trees are her Neverland. She loves the beauty of the trees and listening to the birds sing as she strolls through the woods. The occasional sighting of a herd of deer brings a sense of wonder to her. The landscape is both magical and mystical.

Her new painting, "Mystical Neverland", is the completion of yesterday's large canvas. This art work is 18 by 36 inches, acrylic and mixed watermedia on canvas.

Can you see the magic of Neverland in this painting?

"M" is for Mystical - A to Z Challenge

"Mystical Forest" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Farrah Ferand's passion for trees and forests continues as she paints a mystical forest today. Farrah, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly studies the woods near her home and the trees that grow there, wondering what they have seen all around them during many decades of life. The non-evergreen trees in Virginia are losing their leaves in the autumn. Those leaves are completely gone by the time of her one-person art show. Sometimes the trees are shrouded in mist, giving them a mysterious appearance. Farrah remembers the mysteries of the forest as she works on her new painting.

"Mystical Forest" is actually half of a painting. This acrylic and watercolor art work is on an 18" x 36" canvas. The other half of the canvas will be the Neverland painting for tomorrow. How she will bring the two parts of this painting together, Farrah has not yet decided. We will learn more tomorrow.


For those of you who have just joined this blog journey:
Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"L" is for Love - A to Z Challenge

"Love Song" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Of course, "L" is for Love, if you write romance novels. The word love means a lot to the heroine of my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly. Farrah Ferand is falling in love with the hero of the story, Dirk Lawrence. She is growing to love the high school art students she teaches. And throughout the entire book, Farrah's love for her mother shows through.

Although tainted by the terrible tragedy that overcame her mother in the end, Farrah has lovely memories as well. She recalls days as a small child when she danced with her mother and sister among the flowers that grew in the fields of their Mississippi farm. As she works on this painting for her one-person art exhibition, she indicates those flowers and fields in a poetic love song.

"Love Song" is 20" x 16" watercolor on canvas. It is painting number 10 for Farrah's art show.

Book readers, I would love to know what you think. Is Evening of the Dragonfly a romance? I'm not sure.

"K" is for Knowledge - A to Z Challenge

In Evening of the Dragonfly, as my heroine, Farrah Ferand, searches for answers and the recovery of memories she doesn't even recall having, she realizes the importance of knowledge. She knows there are many things hidden away from her thoughts, and she longs for that knowledge.

Farrah decides to paint the "Tree of Knowledge", but as she works she grows more and more torn. Her mother represents good, but she was caught up in the evil of others. Farrah longs for enlightenment during her painting process. It doesn't come to her right away. Perhaps later, she thinks, as she puts aside this painting that might not be ready for her show.

"Tree of Knowledge" - art in progress ©Mary Montague Sikes

How far should she carry her process in creating this piece of art? Should it be a part of her exhibition? Is it completed? This painting is acrylic and watercolor on canvas, 24" x 24".

"J" is for Journey - A to Z Challenge

"Journey of the Mind and Spirit" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Journey is an important word for Farrah Ferand, the heroine in Evening of the Dragonfly. Ever since the tragic death of her mother, many of Farrah's memories have been locked away inside her. But sometimes memories unveil themselves in hidden ways. Sometimes they appear in dreams. They become journeys of mind and spirit. The art exhibition for which Farrah is preparing is starting a revelation for her. Deep inside her mind, repressed memories are  revealed. Painting about these memories is therapeutic for her.

Today's painting, "Journey of the Mind and Spirit", 24" x 18", can be interpreted in several ways.  The interpretation might be different if colors are intensified or changed.

Do you recall your dreams? Do you write about them or paint them?


For those of you who have just joined this blog journey:

Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"I" is for Infinity - A to Z Challenge

"I" is for infinity. Farrah Ferand, the heroine in Evening of the Dragonfly is fascinated by the infinity symbol. That symbol ∞ was introduced in 1655 by a mathematician named John Wallis. The symbol ∞ can be created on your computer in Windows 7 by holding down the Alt key and typing 236 on the number pad.

"Infinity" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Farrah is captivated by the mysticism surrounding the infinity symbol which for her is used to denote unbounded limitations. Unbounded is what she is attempting to show in her painting today which came to her in a dream. "Infinity" is mixed water media on canvas, 20" x 16".

For those of you who have just joined this blog journey:
Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"H" is for Heart - A to Z Challenge

"H" is for Heart. When Farrah Ferand, my heroine in Evening of the Dragonfly, decides she wants to paint a heart composition for her one-person exhibition, she intends to create an artwork titled "Happy Heart". She has always been fond of heart art and now has her high school students working on heart paintings.

"Emerging Heart" ©Mary Montague Sikes

However, as she works on her painting, she grows sad. After all, her romance with Dirk Lawrence isn't working out as she hoped. There are more complications than she knows how to handle. Now, she doesn't know if she will include this 20" x 16" painting, "Emerging Heart", in the show.

As you can see, Farrah is torn between two art styles: her work in acrylics and her watercolor paintings on canvas. Perhaps she will have settled on a style by the time she completes the paintings for her exhibition.

What do you think about "Emerging Heart"? Should she include it in her art show?

For those of you who have just joined this blog journey:
Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"G" is for Galaxy - A to Z Challenge

G is for Galaxy in today's A to Z Challenge. I have always been fascinated by the stars, planets,galaxies and everything in our universe. I'm especially intrigued by the Astronomy Picture of the Day and have a few of my favorite NASA photographs photocopied in my sketch gathering books. 

When Farrah Ferand, the heroine in my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly, was a young child living on a farm in Mississippi, she and her grandfather would go out at night to look at the stars. She would sometimes lie back and study the zillions of lights visible in the dark sky. When her grandfather told her about the planets and the many stars visible in the universe, Farrah's imagination went wild. Now, as she creates the paintings for her one-person art exhibition, memories of imaginary planets in other galaxies emerge. She wonders what sky was like the tragic summer night her mother died. No matter what she paints, unwanted images emerge.

"Planets in a Lost Galaxy" ©Mary Montague Sikes

But, along with her lost memories, beautiful images appear on her canvasses as well. "Planets in a Lost Galaxy" contains some of the imaginary planets she sometimes painted long ago.

"F" is for Farrah - A to Z Challenge

All of a sudden, Martha was inside her car, struggling to get out. Struggling as the water seeped in. Struggling as the little gray sedan disappeared beneath the still waters of the dark summer lake.

In my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly, Farrah is struggling to understand and to remember what happened that summer night when the tragic death of her mother took place. She wants to remember, but she doesn't want to remember.

"F" is for Farrah Ferand. I have liked the name Farrah ever since I watched the old TV series, "Charlie's Angels" years ago. Farrah Fawcett, one of the stars, was beautiful, and her lovely blonde hair was unforgettable. Besides that, she and her friends solved mysteries. I had Farrah Fawcett in mind as I wrote my story. I could imagine her painting away in the studio she and Dirk built. I could imagine her trying to remember what happened that awful night Martha, her mother, died. I could also imagine her in the starring role as the romance with Dirk evolves.

In my book, Farrah has dreams she doesn't remember the next day. Some of the paintings she creates are about those dreams. "Farrah's Dream" is the title of today's painting. 

"Farrah's Dream" ©Mary Montague Sikes

What does your imagination tell you about this painting?

Evening of the Dragonfly is available in trade paperback and as a Kindle e-book.

"E" is for Everyday - A to Z Challenge

A note to those who would like to know more about my book:

Evening of the Dragonfly is a novel set in the 1980s, a time less complicated than today. Farrah Ferand has a high school art teaching job in a small Virginia town. She meets Dirk Lawrence, a businessman from the city, who takes an interest in her and in her painting and is helping her build a studio over the garage in her rented home. Farrah is thrilled to have the studio because she has a one-person art exhibition scheduled. As she works on new paintings, Farrah realizes things about herself, her relationships, and the tragic loss of her mother. We encounter some of her realizations as new paintings and parts of painting are unveiled each day during the A to Z Challenge. My book is available in trade paperback and as an e-book.

"E" is for everyday things that we don't appreciate as much as we should. As Farrah works in her studio, she looks out the window at the trees with their changing leaves. She loves trees in all seasons of the year. She enjoys watching them through the windshield of her car as the vehicle passes through forests along the Interstate. They remind her of good times long ago when her grandparents sometimes took her on trips with them. They are her everyday trees.

Farrah's painting today is the completed 18" by 36" inch canvas she started in two segments last week. She might add a few new touches here and there, but it's about ready for her show. It's her "Everyday Trees", painted in her everyday style with Golden Acrylics on canvas. It's a different style from the one she uses in other work, and it's fun to watch her switch from her more whimsical paintings. You might notice that the artist made a few changes in the earlier parts of the painting that were revealed last week.

"D" is for Dragonfly - A to Z Blog Challenge

In Evening of the Dragonfly, the lovely little dragonfly creature is bittersweet for our heroine, Farrah Ferand. She has memories that connect the graceful dragonfly to her most tragic moments.

Because of her dragonfly encounters, Farrah has researched its symbolic meanings and is captivated by them. One of them tells her about "going past self-created illusions that limit growth and change." She needs that positive direction as she creates new paintings, one by one, for the one-person exhibition in the city.

There's color magic in the dragonfly and an opening to creative imagination, she learns. Surely, she needs both of those.

"Dragonflies and Portals to Other Planets" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Then, there's the mystical part--the dragonfly flitting through portals to other worlds. That information hits Farrah hard and leads her to create the 18" x 24" watercolor painting "Dragonflies and Portals to Other Planets".

Her tree painting hangs unfinished in the studio. She will work on it over the weekend and post a photo of the finished 18" x 36" canvas on the Monday blog.

"C" is for Color - A to Z Challenge

Farrah Ferand, the heroine of Evening of the Dragonfly, is a troubled young woman. Her mother died in a way she doesn't understand, so she has repressed the memories of that part of her life. As an artist, she has a special way to cope. She is working with color to create her first one-person art show.

"Color and Beauty" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Color is exciting and therapeutic. This painting for Farrah's show is filled with bright color. The Golden liquid Quinacridone red acrylic paint in the middle section of the second painting is strong and might make some changes necessary in yesterday's portion of the painting. It will be interesting to see how this piece turns out.

Follow Farrah as she develops a group of paintings for her show and for the A to Z Challenge

"B" is for Beauty - A to Z Challenge

Farrah Ferand from Evening of the Dragonfly recalls an early childhood filled with beauty. She loves the trees that surround the house where she lives and the tree-lined streets of her little town. Since she wants some large paintings for her exhibition, she is working on one now that will take three days to finish. It is an acrylic painting on canvas, 18" x 36". This is the first third of the painting (left side) and will probably change some as the entire work develops.

"Beauty of Art" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Before her sister left home when Farrah was seven years old, life was joyful. Farrah would lie down in a field of grass behind the farmhouse and study the sky and the clouds with their ever-changing shapes. Her grandfather would sit with her sometimes and tell her stories about the trees and the little creatures that lived in the forest. It was a beautiful time.

"A" is for Artist - A to Z Challenge

Farrah Ferand is the heroine of my new novel, Evening of the Dragonfly, and she is an artist. Since in the book Farrah is creating a one-person painting exhibition for a gallery in Richmond, it seemed like a fun idea for her to create the paintings for that show as part of the A to Z Challenge. I'm hoping to have her create only six or eight paintings during the 26 days of the Challenge. To do that, Farrah would paint a portion of a painting each day. Already, that plan has gone astray as I have a finished painting for today.

Farrah has a troubled past and repressed memories. We will see her uncover some of that past as she creates new paintings, or parts of paintings, each day.

"Moonshine" ©Mary Montague Sikes

When Farrah was a child, her mother and her grandfather told her tales about some of their relatives making and selling moonshine in the back woods of western Virginia. Farrah was intrigued by the stories and believes she should include a painting that relates to them in the exhibition. That's why she has titled the first painting created for the A to Z Challenge, "Moonshine". The painting is watercolor on canvas, 24" x 18".