Standing in the Studio I Study the Paintings on the Wall

Art Studio ©Mary Montague Sikes

Sometimes when I visit Crossroads Art Center in Richmond on a quiet summer's day, I enjoy the serene setting filled with more art than I can hope to take in during one visit. For a few minutes, I go to my studio space and study the paintings on the walls.

My work there is a bit of a cross-section of the many loves I have--color both subdued and bright. Work created on Yupo with all the aspects of color movement and appeal driven by experimentation. It is on the Yupo that I most enjoy using the Robert Doak watercolors filled with intensity and power. A work on canvas also features the Doak paints, but that gessoed surface dulls and softens the look of the work. I enjoy the softness that speaks to me in a spiritual way.

The acrylic painting at the top of the center wall both haunts and attracts me. The strength of the iris reaching toward the sky in "Upreach" depicts nature forever pulling and leading us to a better understanding of the world in which we live. Perhaps it represents the spirits we cannot see.

An acrylic painting on the right wall takes me back to Sedona, Arizona, one of my favorite destinations in all the world. "Rhapsody in Red" on the lower right, center wall conveys both the motion and the sound of music. It takes me to a happy place.

There are two encaustic oil paintings in my studio now. I want to touch and polish them. Occasionally, I do use a soft cotton cloth to brighten and shine the wax in these paintings.

Visiting the studio I have there and going into my studio at home bring me joy. I respond to the artwork I've done, and I hope others will find happiness visiting them as well.

What do you see and feel when you visit art galleries and museums? Do you understand what the artist is saying with their work?


Upcoming Workshops with Mary Montague Sikes

Gloucester VA Arts on Main
August 20 - 22, 1 to 4 p.m.
"Bringing in the Magic"

Hilton Head SC Art Academy
September 10 - 12, 1 to 4 p.m.
Oil/Cold Wax Painting

"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.

P is for Possum - A Painting a Day

A to Z Challenge

"Possum" - acrylic painting ©Mary Montague Sikes

 

I planned to paint an opossum for "O" but discovered I wanted instead to paint the osprey because of its connection to our little town. That left me wondering what to do for "P". Why not paint a possum and pretend I'm in Australia where there are 70 species of marsupials that are native to that continent and its surrounding islands? We have more than 100 species of the opossum marsupials that live in our Western Hemisphere. Actually, when I speak of our Virginia opossums, I always refer to them as "possums".

Possums are nocturnal creatures. We have come home many a night to discover a possum hanging around literally. Several years ago, one died beneath our deck.

Do you have possums or opossums where you live?

Today's painting is 11" x 14" acrylic on stretched canvas. My studio has become an animal and bird hangout!