Changing Styles as an Artist

©Mary Montague Sikes

I've been an artist and a painter for almost all of my life. In my early years, when my children were young, I painted many portraits. My work often started with pastel working drawings, then shifted to either oil or acrylics on canvas. I was influenced by the beautiful Impressionist paintings of Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Rembrandt, and more.

As children, my daughters often suffered through sessions posing for me to paint portraits of them. The painting on the left of my mother with baby Amy was done from a photograph. It hung for many years in my parents' home. I never created a painting of my father, but I did one or more of just about everyone else in our family.

Over the years, I have experimented with numerous forms of art, including marble sculpture and ceramic pots. I even tried creating a bronze sculpture but did not make the lost wax process mold in the the correct proportions. Thus I literally lost months of work when the wax melted away, leaving no mold for the bronze pouring.

Right now, in my studio, I have several acrylic paintings in process, a few cold wax paintings at various stages, and Yupo papers awaiting my special application of Robert Doak watercolors. All of this work is or will be mostly abstract.

In many ways, I long to make large realistic paintings once again. I still like to watch scenic work grow from the big, blank canvasses hanging on specially designed walls. I love the scent of acrylic paint inside my studio.

Who knows? Perhaps portraits will blossom one more time on the walls of my studio.

A to Z Blogfest, Around the World in 30 Days the the Passenger to Paradise - Key West, Florida

"Southernmost Point in the USA"

Monti in Mona Lisa Portrait

Olen in Renoir Portrait by Johnson

The Passenger to Paradise loves exotic destinations, especially ones that involve islands. For her next Around the World in 30 Days, "k" destination, she has chosen Key West, Florida. What an amazing destination. The Passenger has headed there a few times. At least twice, she has gone by way of driving from Miami to Key West passing through all the keys along the way. What an unbelievable sight! She has found the southernmost point in the US and enjoyed being there.

While in Key West she visited the J. Seward Johnson sculpture projects in which he chose paintings by the masters to create sculptures in which viewers can interact. She loved getting involved with these sculptures/paintings in Key West. This destination is so much more than just visiting another island. It was a special destination for President Harry Truman. It was also special for author Ernest Hemingway.

What destinations are special for you? Have you visited Key West?

Busy, Crazy, Insane Weekend and a New Book

Holiday Marketplace at Tides Inn

Combining a book signing with an art event is trying, cumbersome, and exhilarating. For as long as I can remember my first love has been both, and try as I might I can't seem to change that. The love of color and form is far too strong to separate myself from art, and my love of words is equally compelling. It has reached the point that when I didn't still have the painting that became the cover art for Jungle Jeopardy, I had to create a new painting to show with my book. There it is, far left, in the photograph.

Earlier this week, I received the first copies of my latest book, A Rainbow for Christmas. This is my first western. It's a sweet romance set in 1869 on a wagon train traveling from Missouri to Denver, Colorado. During my research I read the dairies of many women who experienced the hardships of crossing the prairie amidst all types of challenges. I was intrigued and lost in the journey of my heroine as she careened along a rough wagon train trail learning to drive a team of oxen along the way. It was thrilling to sign the first copies of my book in the middle of a festive room at Tides Inn filled with artisans of all kinds, including jewelry-makers, painters, potters, and two writers.

Crazy, busy! I love the excitement. Art and writing. I live for the confusing mixture of the two!

Presenting a Workshop on a College Campus

Earlier this week, when I arrived at the campus of the University of Mary Washington to present a writer's workshop, one thing I did not have to worry about was finding a place to park. Barbara Quann, trade book specialist for the university bookstore, had arranged a parking spot for me as well as many other special accommodations. That made for a pleasant and positive experience at the university from which I received my undergraduate degree in psychology.

So much of the campus has changed since I was there, but as I was preparing one of my talks for the day on creating a gathering book I began to realize how much I owe my university.Years ago, I took my first art class ever while attending Mary Washington. Drawing and Design was offered in a wing of duPont Hall. In that class, we created a portfolio for the art work we made as well as for the sources of some of our creative ideas. That was indeed my first gathering book. Many more gathering books and portfolios have been created in the years that followed, but, as with many other things, the first one was very special.

I wanted to major in art there, but my father did not approve. After all, art wasn't a good way to earn a living. He was right, but in my heart of hearts I've always yearned to create art.

And I've always had to write.

That was another place where the University of Mary Washington played a large part. While I was working as a student assistant in the English department, a retired professor emeritus hired me to type his novel written out in his sometimes difficult to discern handwriting. I typed the manuscript, and I learned a great deal from the experience.

As I think back, my four years gave me a lot more than I realized at the time. And I am still using what I learned in my art, in my writing, and also in my teaching.

Enjoying Art and Artful Settings

On the way home from a writer's meeting today, we stopped by the home of art collectors who own three of my abstract paintings. Their modern home, set on seven acres of wooded land, is a perfect setting for art work. Each of the clear glass windows and French doors are pieces of art themselves--showing glowing autumn colors. Falls in the river below their house can be seen clearly from several of the windows and doors. Each room is decorated perfectly, bedspreads, lampshades, and vases all selected to enhance walls filled with beautiful, mostly abstract pieces of original art. Seeing exquisite art work in this natural wooded setting was like visiting a museum or an art gallery only much better. I love woods, and I love original art.

My blog tour and contest continue. I hope you will visit the sites where I will be guest blogging as my Blog Book Tour for Night Watch continues. The schedule is below:

Nov. 11 - Patricia Stoltey

Nov. 12 - Nancy Williams

Nov. 15 - AlexCavanaugh

Nov. 16 - Marian Allen

Nov. 17 - Bodie Parkhurst

Nov. 18 - Thoughts in Progress

Nov. 19 - K. K. Brees