Marshland Magic

Bright sunshine cast the sharp, dark shadows of leaf-barren trees across the landscape, but the warm air hinted of spring. I pulled a long yellow legal pad from a book shelf, picked up a pen, and headed out to stand on our sprawling redwood deck.

The narrow creek was higher than usual. I could see pine trees from the other side reflected in the still waters. I often wondered if this was one of the creeks branching off the York and Mattaponi Rivers that Captain John Smith explored by barge long ago, soon after the settlement of Jamestown. Pocahontas and her friends might have played in our woods that edge the creek. I wondered about that, too.

Something compelled me to step down from the deck and hurry to my spot where I often study and photograph the marsh. Drawings and paintings have resulted from those studies. Angels live in the marshland. I am sure of that.

"Angel of the Marshland"
©Mary Montague Sikes

Angel of the Marshland

Angel of the Marshland, your colors amaze me

And you have such a vibrant glow.

Like lost among the brown grasses

You’ve changed the colors to suit you.

 

I love the trees and waters of the marsh.

Do you hide there often?

                                                                                                                 I will look for you next time I go.

                                                                Then, I’ll touch your golden hair.

                                                                                 ©Mary Montague Sikes

This is a painting that resulted from my visit to the hill overlooking the marshland that day. The poem (there are two more verses) came to me later. I could sense the presence of this angel standing near a tree soon to come alive with bright green leaves. The dogwood would have flowers as well. 

My painting and poem became part of my very special book, Artful Angels. This is a book filled with spiritual beauty and poetic wealth, designed to heal the body and the mind with its mystery and magic.

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

www.MontiSikes.com 

monti7olen@verizon.net

Angels and Meditative Thoughts

 

"Angel of the Timeless Garden" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Angels have always intrigued me. Over the years, I've been inspired to paint them, but I never knew quite how I wanted to portray these magical, celestial beings. Sometimes abstract elements attracted me, but the results didn't seem quite right. Then, I began making a Christmas card each year, using a newly created, realistic pastel drawing or watercolor/acrylic painting of my special angel.

For several years, I worked in mixed water media, often using Yupo for my ground and applying the beautiful and intense Robert Doak watercolors to it. Sometimes I put the paint on canvas instead. I have loved the results.

"Steadfast" watercolor ©Mary Montague Sikes

 When I read Conversations with Angels by Judith Marshall, it occurred to me that my paintings on Yupo make an important connection with the universe. With these paintings, one can become "locked into the universe". One can focus on meditations to connect with spirit guides and guardian angels. These paintings were the device I'd been seeking in my readings and in my art.

In her book, Marshall describes how to visualize for a meditation to meet your guardian angels. I like the idea of sitting in a quiet place and meditating in this manner. Except I put up one of my paintings on Yupo or I pick a page in my new Artful Angels little hard cover book for the coffee table.

This is the poem that came to me in my meditation vision for the World Healers Conference in 2013:

Charm is not a vision nor a feel.

It is music in the universal sky.

The night turns vivid green

And your journey is not far away.

 

Your travels aid knights of vision.

You heal with color and light.

Your thoughts are set to lure

So inside the beauty lingers.

 

I like to watch the sunlit sky

And by that means the truth does bind.

Follow close and follow hard

Hear the sounds of birds and flowers.

 

Animals touch the universal star

And lead you through the journey home.

Do not wait.

Touch it now!   

©Mary Montague Sikes                   

Much of what I see or hear in meditation is poetic. Try focusing on a painting and see if you have a poetic response to color and light.

My book, Artful Angels is available from Amazon.

 

 

Artful Angels - A Book for These Times

I have always loved angels. In my art, I see them everywhere.

Artful Angels is my book for these troubled times. The paintings in it were created using a variety of materials, including pastels, acrylics, encaustics, and watercolors mostly on my favorite surface, Yupo.

Meditation is important to me. The words--perhaps they are poetry--came intuitively as I studied each painting.

It is my hope that readers will select a painting or a poem and reflect on it, creating their own thoughts and images. Quiet is a good thing. It can bring joy to our hearts and angels into our lives.

Artful Angels in hardcover is available now from Barnes & Noble. It will be available soon from Amazon.com. Please find your own retreat in this beautiful book. I would love to know what you think.