Reflecting on a Year Turned to Art - 2014

When I reflect on 2014, I realize it was a year that began and ended with art. Along the way, some lovely travel was sprinkled in.

Workshop students at GAMi ©Mary Montague Sikes

I love interaction with other artists, so what could be more satisfying than working with a group of adults teaching experimental painting. My workshop at Gloucester Arts on the Main was the first of many I taught or took during the year. I was happy to be part of Mary Anne Beckwith's class in Boone NC in August and, as always, enjoyed Karen Eide's encaustics class at West Point. In December, I taught my experimental painting class for Arts Alive in West Point.

Along came February-March and off we went to Palm Beach FL and Jupiter for St. Louis Cardinals Spring Training. We stayed two weeks and got to watch so many of the young rookies, including Oscar Taveras, the talented superstar of the future who later died in a tragic car accident in October. In the dugout photo below, Taveras is facing first baseman, Matt Adams, 32. Spring training is a special time when everyone is hoping and dreaming of going deep into the post season. The Cardinals came within one game of another trip to the World Series.

St. Louis Cardinals' Dugout Spring Training 2014 ©MMSikes

Late March, I put on my writer's hat and was guest speaker for the York River chapter of King's Daughters in Gloucester. In May, I enjoyed painting en plein air at Rosewell. For the event, I purchased a special French easel that I put to use again in September painting outside at New Town Art Gallery.

Painting at Rosewell ©Olen Sikes

In July and September, I participated in Pastel Society of Virginia art exhibitions. The first was at the Glen Allen Cultural Art Center.

In July we were treated to a trip to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, planned by our daughter, Allison. Our other daughters, Alicia and Amy, participated as well, making this a very special event. Because of their extreme interest in Aviation, we spent one day at the Aviation Museum near Portland.

Olen at Air and Space Museum ©MMSikes

During September, October, and November, I was excited to be a visiting artist at New Town Art Gallery in Williamsburg. It was fun to get to know most of the gallery artists and to participate in gallery events.

New Town Art Gallery at Night ©MMSikes

Enjoying the Tropical Setting ©Olen Sikes

 In September, we spent a week in Hilton Head SC and then a week in Puerto Rico. Those warm weather memories will help us through a cold Virginia winter.

November, we hung a huge art exhibition of 11 of my largest paintings at the new Ward Center for Contemporary Art in Petersburg. The opening night for that show will take place, February 13, 2015. We also flew out to Sedona AZ, landing in Flagstaff for the first time.

Ward Center Exhibition ©MMSikes

Sedona from Hillside restaurant ©MMSikes

In December, my dear friend, Mary Jane Tolley, hosted an art show open house for some of my work in her home. I loved meeting her friends and discussing my work with them.

Much more art than writing provided Notes Along the Way in 2014. Wonder what will happen in 2015 when my new book is released? We will soon see how the story of the artist in Evening of the Dragonfly will frame the new year.

How the Arts Promote Each Other

New Town Art Gallery in Williamsburg VA ©Mary Montague Sikes

September is a wild and crazy month for the arts in Virginia. This month I have attended three art opening events at three different galleries. I also spent four days at New Town Art Gallery in Williamsburg, much of that time painting with pastels on my French easel outside the front entrance.

Cats Cast Members Perform at New Town Art Gallery ©MMSikes

The New Town Art Gallery open house on September 6 featured segments from the Cats the Musical, presented by the Williamsburg Players. About 200 guests in the gallery were treated to songs from the production performed by about 30 members of the cast.


At Crossroads Art Center in Richmond VA, a variety of musical activities combined with art for an open house event this month. It was fun to see a large decorated cake carted down the aisle past my gallery space en route to the main gallery. Not far away, country music filled the air. Outside, a large mural is being painted on the long drugstore wall at the end of the shopping center. Street vendors sell food and drinks outside the gallery on opening nights adding to the wonderful festive air to the area.

At For Art's Sake Gallery in Richmond, a nice crowd enjoyed refreshments at the Pastel Society of Virginia's exhibition, "Small Works of Great Art."

For Art's Sake Art Gallery ©MMSikes

As an additional example of arts supporting arts, all eight of my novels and my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember are on sale at New Town Art Gallery. Artists supporting artists and helping by promoting each other--that's the way it should be.

Learning from an Encaustics Art Workshop

Karen Eide demonstrates encaustic techniques ©Mary Montague Sikes

Karen Eide first presented her encaustics art workshop in West Point about eight years ago. This is a Virginia Museum of Fine Arts sponsored program brought to town by the Arts Alive art group. We loved her program and have invited her back every year since then.

Encaustics which means "burn in" involves the use of oil paint and bees wax. It's a process of  fusing the wax between layers.

In Karen's class, we melted encaustic paints directly on griddles preheated to 180 to 200 degrees. To make colors more transparent, we dripped wax medium into the puddles of  paint. Every three or four layers, we used the heat gun to fuse the work.

In my home studio, Angelview Studio, I have all the materials needed to work with encaustics. However, because of the toxic fumes involved, I have not yet set it up. I am considering working instead on an outdoor patio.

The encaustics class kicked off the art workshop season for Arts Alive. It was the first event in a busy September for me. The opening of a Small Works show at For Art's Sake in Richmond, then the theatrical opening in conjunction with "Cat's" at New Town Art Gallery completed an exciting artful weekend.

Karen Eide ©Mary Montague Sikes