"Z is for Zealous Heart #atozchalllenge

"Zealous Heart" ©Mary Montague Sikes

"Z" is for Zealous Heart for the last day of the A to Z Blog Challenge. This is the final heart on my painting, "So Many Hearts Dancing in the Air".

A zealous heart can have many meanings. A person might be super active and vivacious to possess this heart. It's an exciting and colorful heart to have.

This is probably the strongest of the little heart paintings on this 24" x 48" canvas, and it is located at the far bottom corner. Not a good thing artistically. As the last painting, it is pulling into the canvas or is it pulling away?

The painting has more of the acrylic gel and Golden acrylics. It is upbeat and fun.

Next week, we will revisit the finished canvas. I hope you will tell me what you think.

Thank you, everyone who has visited this project. Thank you, all the folks who have made the A to Z Blog Challenge possible again this year.

"B" is for Broken Heart #atozchallenge

Broken Heart ©Mary Montague Sikes

"B" is for Broken Heart in day two of the A to Z Blog Challenge. In romance writing, there are many broken hearts, and the pain is great.

Painting so many images on one large canvas is going to be a real challenge, but it's fun to try it. Last year, I created 19 new paintings during the Challenge. They were for an art show created by Farrah, the heroine of my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly. Creating many new paintings was probably less of a challenge because each one stood on its own. Painting 26 individual heart paintings on the same large canvas is definitely harder. The reason for that is I don't want all the colors to be too similar. That would be boring. However, in the end, this painting might not work the way I hope it will because of all the diversity. We'll see.

I love painting hearts, so there will be something different to view everyday. So far, I'm using acrylic paint with surface texture created with regular gel medium. For some sections of the painting, I might use some found objects and other collage materials.

We will see what happens. "So Many Hearts Dancing in the Air" is and will remain a work in progress.

"So Many Hearts Dancing in the Air" - A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal

My original plan for this year's A to Z Blog Challenge was to create a travel blog each day. I love to travel and then to write about some segment of the trip. I even added a TR to my Notes Along the Way entry. But then, I thought about how much fun it was in 2013 to create my Animals A to Z and to have a new painting every day. I loved what happened with those spontaneous little paintings that eventually developed into their own art show. Then, last year, I created a painting exhibition for Farrah Ferand, the heroine of my novel, Evening of the Dragonfly. Because I sometimes made a painting in two parts, I finished with only 19 paintings from the 2015 Challenge. They turned into a show as well and became a part of a book signing for more than one occasion.

How could I resist another painting challenge? I couldn't.

This year's theme is "So Many Hearts Dancing in the Air". I have chosen a large 24" x 48" canvas and have already made a grid on it. Each day, I plan to create a new little heart image, about 8" x 5", as part of a painting that will eventually feature 26 hearts dancing on the surface.

Blank Canvas with Grid for A to Z Challenge

I'm excited and already have titles for each of the alphabet heart sections. Prior to April 1, I plan to paint the edges of this gallery-wrapped canvas that is 1 1/2" deep. I might also add some paint to part of the background. This will be an acrylic painting with occasional mixed media to provide surface texture.

It should be fun. I'm looking forward to seeing how this new painting develops. I hope I can figure out a way to get rid of the TR so no one will visit my blog expecting travel instead of painting.

Thanks to all of the bloggers who have worked hard to make the A to Z Challenge such a popular blogging event.

Angel Paintings for the Christmas Holidays

For many years, I have crafted an angel painting to use as the image for our Christmas card. The tradition actually started when our oldest daughters were small, about three and six. I created a woodcut block of them as angels. Over the years, I have used that woodcut many times as a demonstration piece in art classes for ways to make art prints.

In more recent times, my angel paintings have been pastels, watercolors, or acrylics, sometimes on paper, other times on canvas. The watercolors are softer and more subdued paintings. The acrylics are quite vibrant. All of them are far different from the prints I created from that earkt woodblock.

Each year, I like my latest painting best of all. This year is no exception. Last year's canvas was quite abstract. This year, my painting is a little of both realistic and abstract. The acrylic painting began with a buildup of gesso that I textured using a variety of methods and materials. I then used Golden Fluid Acrylics to create the finished painting on a square 24" x 24" gallery-wrapped canvas that I titled "Angel at the Window".

Is she looking in or looking out? What do you think?

"Angel at the Window" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Merry Christmas

"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.

Passenger to Paradise, a Collaboration of Artist and Writer

Several years ago my publisher, Oak Tree Books, created the "Passenger to Paradise" series for my novels that are set in exotic destinations. These books have included settings in Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua, Costa Rico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Sedona AZ. When deciding the name for my one-person show in the new Ward Center for  Contemporary Art, I thought about the "Passenger to Paradise" books and how I had not only written about the many beautiful places we have visited but I have also painted them. In an "aha" moment, it occurred to me that "Passenger to Paradise" is the perfect title for my exhibition that will be on display when the Ward Center opens during the months of November, December, and January.

Whenever we go on a trip anywhere, I always have a camera dangling around my neck or tucked away in a fanny pack. I enjoy photographing foliage, beaches, buildings, sunrises, sunsets--anything that tells a story and can be used as reference material later on. I also have handy a sketchbook filled with heavy-duty Canson drawing paper. Most of the pages contain notes made with a black marking pen and are illustrated with a small drawing here and there. When we return home, I enjoy having photographs as well as my notes to remind me of the places we have visited.

The tropical island of Jamaica is one of my favorite destinations in the Caribbean. The glorious scenery there has been the subject of a novel, Hearts Across Forever, and many paintings, including several of the spectacular Dunn's River Falls. At least two of those paintings will be included in the "Passenger to Paradise" exhibition. The acrylic painting on canvas featured in this post is 52" x 76" framed.

"Dunn's River Falls II" ©Mary Montague Sikes

 

I look forward to hanging the "Passenger to Paradise" show in the brand new Ward Center for Contemporary Art. The paintings included will represent scenes from Trinidad, Antigua, and other scenic and tropical destinations. It will be a collaboration of both the artist and the writer.

What about you writers and you artists? Can you find a talented friend with whom you can collaborate for a show and a book-signing? Perhaps even a poetry reading? Writing about a painting or creating art inspired by a poem have become popular activities for clubs and sometimes even galleries.

Art and writing make a great collaboration.

From A to Z Blog Challenge to Art Exhibition

Last April when I began the A to Z Blog Challenge, I had no idea it would become an art project and an exhibition. Since I already had developed an interest in creating wild animal canvases to go with my novel, Jungle Jeopardy, I found myself painting mostly creatures from the wild for this project. Only one of the 26 Animal Alphabet paintings is not the original from the Challenge. That one is the "D" painting for "Dragonfly and Daffodils". It was the only pastel painting in the project, so I decided to use it as a reference for an acrylic painting on canvas that would better fit in with the other acrylics in the show.

Gallery owner Fred Miller did an outstanding job hanging the show which also features the two paintings I made for Jungle Jeopardy. The exhibition will be on view at Prince George Art and Frame in Williamsburg, Virginia through November 30.

"Dragonfly and Daffodils" pastel ©MMSikes

"Dragonfly and Daffodils" acrylic ©MMSikes

Viewing Animal Alphabet Show ©Mary Montague Sikes

Petersburg Paintings - Last Chance for Sales

After 10 years, the Petersburg Regional Art Center is closing. Artists are hosting a big sale there tonight. Since I have a group of acrylic paintings of buildings in Old Petersburg, I will feature them in the Mezzanine Gallery. For tonight only, I will offer these paintings for 50% off. The "Old Court House" is acrylic on Arches paper, matted and framed. The other three pieces are acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas.

The location is 132 North Sycamore Street in Petersburg, Virginia. Open House begins at 7 p.m.

"Old Court House" ©Mary Montague Sikes

"Old Blandford Church" ©Mary Montague Sikes

"Old Petersburg Building" ©Mary Montague Sikes

"Old Train Station" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The Grand Canyon Stirs the Imagination of Artists and Writers

"Canyon!" acrylic on stretched canvas ©Mary Montague Sikes

"Canyon", 4' by 7', was the largest painting I had on display at Petersburg Regional Art Center. It was the last piece of art we piled on top of our final van load as we cleared out two studios and several walls from the Center over the weekend. Right now, it's sitting on the floor in front of a brick fireplace not far from where we watch television. The grand vista opens up a new dimension in that room.

As I studied the painting I hadn't viewed for a long while, I thought about the thousands of artists and writers who've been immensely inspired by this glorious and unique place. So many paintings. Artists working en plein air. Writers imagining what might happen if one of those folks posing on the canyon's edge might slip, might be pushed to their deaths far below. I wonder at the daring of the tightrope walker crossing a piece of the canyon.

Starting when our two oldest daughters were very young, we've visited the Grand Canyon many times. I worried then as they played near the canyon's edge. I always love the view from the spacious dining room of the El Tovar where one can watch the changing colors of light playing across the canyon walls.

In this painting, I used my imagination with many of the colors I chose, but I love the effect that resulted. Hidden away in archival drawers, I suspect I have some long-forgotten pastel drawings of the canyon. Color slides taken along roads and trails lie concealed inside carousel trays awaiting a show with the projector. I hope they will keep a few more years.

Our last visit to the Grand Canyon came last November. Already, the artist and the writer in me is longing to return.

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.

Symbolism in Writing - The Dragonfly

"Dragonfly Morning" (detail) ©Mary Montague Sikes

From the time I first started reading, I was captivated by symbolism. Of course, at a very young age, I didn't know what that word meant, but anything that brought pictures into my mind gave me joy.

These days, I enjoy creating images that symbolize or express an intangible ideal. I am especially intrigued by the dragonfly.

Did you know that certain cultures, like some tribes of the native American Indians, believe dragonflies are the souls of the dead? There are many other beliefs as well, such as they represent new beginnings, prosperity, happiness, and much more.

While I was working on my novel, Night Watch, we took a trip to Hilton Head, South Carolina. Upon our arrival, I heard a lot of commotion on the balcony outside our sliding glass door. Concerned, I went to see what was happening. To my surprise, a half-dozen or more dragonflies were flying around, bumping into the glass, with the light of the setting sun reflecting on their transparent wings. I was enchanted and in complete awe. It was like a sign because in my book, the dragonfly holds a special meaning. It is symbolic of the change taking place in my heroine's life. For many centuries, the dragonfly has been a symbol of change, so what better creature to be a part of my story?

Last week, I decided to make a painting with dragonflies in it. I then took a detail from my new art work and made a greeting card. Inside each card, I placed the following message on an insert:

"The dragonfly is a symbol of change, going beyond self-illusion to create new beginnings and happiness. Because their colors result from reflected and refracted light, dragonflies may be associated with color magic and illusion. For some Native Americans they represent the souls of the dead.

When Lily discovers the dragonfly necklace in Night Watch, she reconnects with a past she does not quite understand. The dragonfly represents all the change that has occurred in her life. It is a symbol of a new beginning for her, and it brings back a bit of magic into her life as well."

 

At my book signing, I focused on Night Watch and gave a copy of my new card and insert with each purchase of my books. The dragonfly represents magic and beauty to me.

Souls of the dead?

Perhaps. We know so little about life...

People are attracted to dragonflies. During the next few weeks, I plan to paint more of them.

--Mary Montague Sikes

Around the World in 30 Days -- Canadian Rockies

"Rocky Mountain High" oil painting, 5' x8' - MMSikes

Around the World in 30 Days with the Passenger to Paradise hits Day 3 and C with the Canadian Rockies as the chosen destination. Visiting those rugged Rockies is a journey the Passenger has dreamed about for many years. While she was in graduate school in the painting department at Virginia Commonwealth University, she created a master's thesis exhibition of large paintings focusing on the Rocky Mountains. One painting, "Rocky Mountain High," is reproduced here. Photographs and slides she took in and of those mountains were the reference materials for her paintings.

However, she has never seen the Canadian Rockies. Her hope and dream is to someday take a train trip through the mountains, creating a series of photographs along the way.

Have you visited the Canadian Rockies? How are they different from the Rockies of our western states?

Sunset Taken from the Air

"Sunset from the Air" MM Sikes

En route home from an awesome trip, I took yet another sunset photo. We were flying from Los Angeles to Chicago and were about an hour away from our destination when this picture was taken. Digital photography is truly amazing because the smudgy airplane window was partially covered with frosty ice particles.

Years ago, when I took my first photos from the air, they inspired a fascination with air views. Although the quality using 35mm film was not great, I used many of my pictures as working sketches for a series of large acrylic paintings that I called "Air Views." After that, I did another series--this time of mountains as seen from the air.

Do you like to take photos from the air? Have you sometimes been excited with the results? I would love to hear about your photos.