A to Z Challenge Paintings

Paintings Awaiting Finishing Touches

The A to Z Challenge for April is over, and I now have 19 new paintings stacked or hanging in my studio, awaiting finishing touches. It was exciting to compete with myself to get a painting (or portions of several larger pieces) completed each day. Although I managed to paint around the sides of some of the works (all on canvas), I still have many with sides that need to be painted. Those are mostly the watercolors and the mixed water media pieces.

All of the work requires one or more coats of polymer finish. Of course, each piece also will need screw eyes and picture wired attached for hanging.

The show will be unveiled for the first time next Saturday when I have an exhibit for Farrah Ferand (my heroine) and a book signing for Evening of the Dragonfly. The event will be at Gloucester Arts on Main, Gloucester from 1 to 4 p.m.

I gained a few more followers during the Challenge, and I found some interesting people to follow. I also enjoyed the posts of bloggers I already followed. Having a new art show is a major reward.

Thanks to co-hosts: Alex Cavanaugh, Jeremy Hawkins, Nicole Ayers, Stephen Tremp, Heather M. Gardner, AJ, Pam, Matthew MacNish, Zalka Csenge Virág, S. L. Hennessy, C. Lee McKenzie, Joy Campbell, Susan Gourley, Lisa Buie-Collard, and John Holton. Also thanks to Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out who started the Challenge in 2010.

Art Speaks on the Bay Juried Show

"So Many Shells on the Beach", my watercolor painting, is part of the Art Speaks on the Bay Juried Show on view now at Mathews Bay School. The volunteers had a lovely reception last Saturday for the large turnout of visitors.

Art Speaks on the Bay opening reception

"So Many Shells on the Beach" (Top Painting)

"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?

"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?

"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.

"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

"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".

Self-publishing Strategies for the Artist -- What's This

Well, folks, if you thought plans and strategies in the world of self-publishing were just for writers, think again. "Self-publishing Strategies" is the lead headline on the cover of the latest Professional Artist Magazine. The headline right below that one is: "Get Your Art into Local Media". So you see artists and writers face similar issues in promoting and selling their works.

In her article in the magazine, "Self-publishing and Technology," E. Brady Robinson urges artists to "clarify your goals, study your market, and develop a strategy." Sound familiar, writers?

Robinson points out the practical need for every artist to have a website. We know every writer needs one.

The next section of her article is about building an audience using social media. She focuses on the use by one artist of an iPhone camera to capture the images of people going about their daily activities. As a travel writer, I've always had a camera at the ready to document the stories I write. The digital camera is magic for both writer and artist.

Robinson also goes on to point out the value of Print on Demand as a device to aid artists in promotion of their work and making some of it visible to the public. Of course, POD has changed the world of writing. No more huge stacks of books in the garage or under the beds of self-published authors. It's a good thing for both artist and writer.

It's inspiring to read my copy of Professional Artist Magazine and see how artists and writers share similar challenges. It's exciting to be both artist and writer in today's digital age.

Enjoying the World of Art

In April, I had the exciting experience of actually creating a Painting a Day for the A to Z Blog Challenge. It was exhilarating to have a new and fun realistic painting at the end of each day. 

Now I'm back to the world of experimental water media art, creating paintings that viewers can see and determine their own meanings as they look at the work. My painting in the Members Show currently on view at This Century Art Gallery in Williamsburg VA is one of those creations.  I have many new paintings on canvas, Arches watercolor paper, and Yupo and will feature some of these new works on my blog from time to time. The Members Show at TCAG will be open to the public through July 19.

"Will There Be Peace Anywhere?" at Art Opening

Using Animal Paintings to Create a Card

©Mary Montague Sikes

Since I very much enjoyed creating the animal paintings for the A to Z Challenge, I decided to design an oversize card with some of creatures to use as a handout in my studio and for art shows. Here is the first one I planned and ordered Monday from Vista Print.

My husband bought a Groupon promotion offer from Vista for me that I needed to use by this week in order to get the full value. The card on the left is one of two projects I created. I'm looking forward to receiving the actual products to see how they turned out.

©Mary Montague Sikes

This was so much fun that I designed another card (on the right) that I might order later. What do you think? Which card design do you prefer? Did any of you have favorites from the 26 creatures?

The Painting a Day exercise brought out some colorful results. Now back to the studio...

Too Much of Anything is Too Much in Art or in Writing - Or Is It?

During the month of April, in midst of the A to Z Challenge, I took a week-long workshop with the talented artist Pat Dews. After hearing many accolades in praise of her paintings and her teaching, I longed to experience a workshop with her.

Pat Dews giving a demo talk in Boone NC

At the beginning of her first demonstration, Pat talked about the importance of having quiet areas within a painting. I jotted down her words, "Too much of anything is too much." Sounds simple but it is so true of anything we do, especially in creative work that includes writing as well as art.

Pat Dews' workshop was full of energy and imagination. Throughout each day of painting, she showed us many different techniques she uses to give texture in her experimental water media works. All the students in her class were experienced artists. For five days, I marveled at the talent I saw all around me. I also was impressed by the strength of the design elements in everyone's work.

Creating abstract from realism and realism from abstract was a theme I observed in many of the paintings. I love working with the abstract and with color and texture in experimental art. Pat's paint palette is much different from mine, but I still love the more muted colors she uses.

One of Pat Dews' textured demo paintings in progress

Each day, after class, I went back to my project of creating a Painting a Day for the A to Z Challenge. It was amazingly difficult for me to "shift gears" to paint with acrylics on my little stretched canvas (11" x 14" or smaller) primed with bright orange after my day working experimentally with inks, dyes and other painting media on full sheets of watercolor paper (30" x 22").

Our trip to Boone NC where the Pat Dews' workshop was held is a six-hour drive from here. While in Boone, we like to stay at the Highlands on Sugar Mountain which is a 45-minute drive from Cheap Joe's Art Stuff (workshop location). With all the travel, the first couple of days back home are recovery time. I started to wonder, did I have "too much" art all at once.

It was a lot of art, but, today, after two weeks, I'm going to unpack my experimental painting starts from the workshop and see where I might go from there in developing them. I'm also heading back into my studio to paint another cat for my A to Z Challenge group of 26 paintings. (The original cat painting went to my daughter.) I have a 20" x 20" gallery stretched canvas primed with bright orange paint, and a photo ready for reference. Since my "D" painting is of a daffodil and a dragonfly and is my only pastel on paper in the series, I'm also considering creating a new painting in acrylic on canvas for that letter.

Maybe "too much" was just not enough! I really loved doing a Painting a Day, no matter what the circumstance...

Z is for Zebra - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

"Zebra, Stripes and All" - acrylic painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

This is the last day of the A to Z Challenge, and I feel a little sad. It's been fun and actually stimulating to finally attempt a Painting a Day.

Many thanks to A to Z Hosts: founder Arlee Bird at Tossing It Out, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Tina Downey at Life is Good, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude 2.0, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Matthew MacNish at The QQQE, Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Livia Peterson at Leave it to Livia, L. Diane Wolfe at Spunk on a Stick, and Nicole at The Madlab Post. Having 1656 participants must have been a challenge all by itself!

Here is my last painting of the series. "Z" is for Zebra.

I now have a studio lined with new paintings, except for "C" is for Casey Cat which I gave to our daughter, Amy. Now, I'll have the challenge of painting another "C". I have an interesting bonus from this project. For several years, a fairly large painting sketched out on canvas has rested against a wall in the studio. It's been only a sketch. Until now. Because I hate to waste any of my very expensive paints, I started using the leftovers from the A to Z Challenge on that canvas. I now have a new painting well under way. Perhaps I'll share it here when it's finished!

Today's painting, "Zebra, Stripes and All" is 14" x 11" acrylic on stretched, deep gallery-wrapped canvas.

Goodbye to the Challenge.

Y is for Yellowstone Buffalo - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

"Yellowstone Buffalo" - acrylic painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

Today's painting is "Y" is for Yellowstone Buffalo. Several years ago, we spent almost two weeks exploring Yellowstone National Park. Wild buffalo roamed everywhere. They often stopped traffic through the park as they lumbered across the roads--sometimes pausing for a while there. Although there were warnings to be cautious because of the danger of being gored by these animals, people still jumped from their cars to take photos. I took the reference photo for this painting through the car window of a buffalo lying by the side of the road.

There are approximately 4200 wild buffalo in Yellowstone National Park. Compare that to the tens of millions that once roamed free across the plains of our country. Imagine people shooting these animals from trains long ago and decimating the buffalo population. Stampeding buffalo herds were a big danger to wagon trains in the mid-1800s.

"Yellowstone Buffalo" is 8" x 10" acrylic on stretched canvas. It is the next to last art work in my Painting a Day for the A to Z Challenge.

X is for X-Ray Tetra - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

The A to Z Challenge is nearing the end. I've been creating a new animal painting each day. This week has been a special challenge for me because every day I've also been taking an amazing art workshop that was especially intense. At the end of each workshop day, I've painted a new artwork and needed to photograph it and post my blog prior to leaving the art facility before 6 p.m. For that reason, I've kept all the blog posts short. I also have been unable to go visit other bloggers in the Challenge. I'll try to make up for that when I return home.

"X-Ray Tetra" - acrylic painting copyright Mary Montague Sikes

"X" is for X-Ray Tetra, an exotic transparent fish native to the Amazon River in South America. This colorful fish is popular for home aquariums.

"X-Ray Tetra" is 10" x 8" acrylic on stretched canvas. This is the 24th painting in the Painting a Day series for the A to Z Challenge.

W is for Wallaby - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

"Wallaby" acrylic painting - Mary Montague Sikes

For "W" I've chosen another animal, the Wallaby, a marsupial that inhabits Australia and Tasmania. My daughter, Amy, provided me with a photograph that she took in Tasmania that I used as my resource image. Since these animals actually live among rocks, I took some liberties with the terrain.

This painting is 11" x 14" acrylic on stretched canvas. We are nearing the end of A Painting a Day for the A to Z Challenge.

V is for Virginia Deer - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

"Virginia Deer" - acrylic painting  Mary Montague Sikes

Today "V" is for Virginia Deer and the many we have seen in our woods over the years. The deer were there long before we came, and I enjoy watching them. They are a nuisance when they eat the vegetables and flowers from the garden. Still, I am glad they are there.

Today's painting is 14" x 11" acrylic on stretched canvas.

U is for Unicorn - A Painting a Day

"Unicorn" acrylic painting Mary Montague Sikes

A to Z Challenge

For today, "U" is for Unicorn in A Painting a Day for the A to Z Challenge. Unicorn isn't a real animal, I've been told. Still, it's a fascinating one, and one that fills the imagination.

I created this art using a photo I took in Colorado for my resource. This is 14" x 11" acrylic on stretched canvas.

Hope everyone is continuing to enjoy the Challenge.

T is for Tasmania Devil - A Painting a Day

"Tasmanian Devil" acrylic painting Mary Montague Sikes

Challenge A to Z

Today's painting is a Tasmanian Devil created from photos taken by my daughter, Amy, on a trip to Tasmania. This is 14 x 11 acrylic on stretched canvas.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Blog Challenge. I'm painting this at the end of an art workshop day.