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.

A Story for the Times of a Writer

"Looking Down" ©Mary Montague Sikes

A young woman opened the door to enter the County Board of Supervisors' meeting. Thick smoke swirled like a cloud around her face. She stifled a cough, then clutched her secretarial pad and pen close to her chest. Quietly she made her way through the crowd of men to the straight wooden chairs at the front of the room, reserved for the press.

When she sat down, the Daily Press reporter welcomed her with a smile like he always did, and the Times-Dispatcher scowled as usual. Both men pulled out their packs of cigarettes and soon added to the haze in the room.

That's the way it was back then. The young woman wrote for the afternoon city newspaper. The two men were reporters for morning papers in two different cities. All three of them were competitors, seeking to beat out the others in some unexpected way.

By the time she drove home at the end of the meeting, the young woman, her clothing saturated in smoke, would be past the paper's evening deadline. She would write her story that night and call it in from her wall telephone the next morning. Someone on the city staff, a stranger to her, would take the dictation. If she took photos, she would drop her film by the home of a friend who worked in the city, then she would head to her day job in the next county. It was a brutal schedule for the mother of three young children.

She wrote lots of feature stories and took the photographs, but that was at a more leisurely pace. Those stories were typed, and they, along with the undeveloped film, were mailed to the paper. The pay was not much, but the experience was priceless for the young woman.

Along came computers, digital cameras, cell phones and everything changed. Afternoon newspapers closed down. People were a little different, not so much relating to one another at the meetings. Reporters died. The smoke was gone.

The young woman grew old, but, because of the newspapers, she had learned to write and to photograph many subjects. Those were the times.

Introvert vs. Extrovert

Over the years, I've always considered myself an introvert. Writing and painting are mostly solitary occupations--the activities of introverts. Or so I thought.

With the isolation of the past two weeks, I've decided that perhaps I'm more of an extrovert than I

"In my gallery at Crossroads" ©Mary Montague Sikes

thought. Two Art Gallery Open House events last week were cancelled. One became a three-hour long virtual event which was good, but I still missed actually being there. I had planned to do a painting demo at Crossroads Art Center in Richmond during the Open House. I also wanted to change some of the artwork in my gallery there. Those things didn't happen.

I also miss going to the gym three times a week. Not only does my body feel the lack of group exercise, but I really miss seeing my friends there. Maybe a little bit extroverted?

Although writers might claim to be introverts, a lot of them thrive on watching others. After all, one learns a lot out in public, viewing interaction between people. That's where we discover our "what ifs?"and more.

The new norm of isolation has made me more appreciative of the beginning of this year. In January, I enjoyed chatting with visitors and other artists at the opening of the "Winter Blues" show at Gloucester Arts on Main. I smile when remembering I was accused of being an extrovert while there. During January, I attended meetings and enjoyed the people around me without truly understanding what a wonderful opportunity it is to be with others. I also taught an oil and cold wax workshop that I appreciate even more now.

In February, we went to Florida for the St. Louis Cardinals spring training games. What a joy the beginning of baseball season was. I enjoyed every moment of it. And we got to see some of our favorite people at the Islander Grill & Tiki Bar where we dined every morning for breakfast. I didn't take any of that for granted.

Now, January, February, and even the beginning of March seem years ago. I would like to slip back in time or, perhaps, go a couple of months ahead. I can be an introvert in my studio for a while, but those days of the extrovert beckon me. I will forever appreciate art openings, book signings, workshops, and meetings far more than in the past.

How Quickly Things Can Change

"In the Dugout with the St. Louis Cardinals 2020" ©Mary Montague Sikes

We went to Baseball Spring Training a little early this year. It's my favorite time of year, and I look forward to next year the moment we return home.

This year was a little different. Near the end of our two weeks in Florida, the players grew more hesitant to sign autographs. Then, just a little over a week after we got home, Major League Baseball shut down Spring Training. I felt a little sad for those who planned trips to Florida or Arizona for the final two weeks. However, I was glad we chose to go early.

"Watching Jack Flaherty Warm Up" ©Mary Montague Sikes

We enjoy sitting in the section behind the bullpen because we get a perfect view of each pitcher as they warm up. What a joy it was to watch our ace, Jack Flaherty, as he got ready to pitch. And we always like to see our long-time ace, Adam Wainwright, closeup. All the other pitchers--lots of them at the beginning of Spring Training--gather to watch the game's starter get ready. This is really a fun time.

"Kim Throwing Warm Up 2020" ©Mary Montague Sikes

The new Korean pitcher Kim was impressive to watch from the sixth row of our favorite section. We also saw Andrew Miller throw so many wild pitches that the coaches decided to shut him down instead of sending him out to pitch an inning in the game. This reminded us of a time, years ago, when we were watching Rick Ankiel on the back fields. He threw so wildly that day that he decided to quit pitching. (He worked hard on his game and came back as a good outfielder instead.)

Now, we can only wait to see what happens with baseball and with everything else as time stands still. Perhaps the virus will teach us patience.

Destination Jamaica--A Great Gift No Matter the Season

"I Saw and Angel Standing in the Trees" ©MMSikes

Years ago, my husband gave me the gift of a trip to the luscious island nation of Jamaica. I don't recall if the gift was for Valentine's, but it could have been.

That first visit was amazing, exciting, and transforming. For an artist, the scenery could not have been more lovely. In those days, I always carried my 35mm camera with me no matter where I went, so I took dozens of photographs every day we were there. When I got home, I went into my downstairs studio and stretched new canvases. Some were 4 by 6 feet. Others were 3 1/2 by 4 1/2. I tightened each canvas on the stretcher bars, then carried them to the upstairs studio to gesso the foundations for my new series of work.

Using my Jamaica photos as reference materials, I first created a pastel working drawing for each image. Then, I pulled out my tubes and bottles of acrylic paints and began painting my new canvases that now hung on the studio wall. An entire series of "Tropical Fantasy" paintings grew in the studio as my visions became realities. (One of those paintings was later enhanced with my angel vision.)

"Red Bud" ©MMSikes

During that trip I had my first glimpse of Rose Hall Great House rising above the landscape overlooking the sea along the coast of Jamaica. It was an eerie sight; it was a beautiful sight. I was drawn to visit the old building that once belonged to Annie Palmer, often called the "white witch" because of her treatment of the slaves that worked her sugar plantation and because of her ties to the strange Obeah rituals that came with her from stays in Haiti.

When I returned from Jamaica, the story of the"white witch" haunted me. I wrote about her in travel articles that appeared in the Chronicle-Telegram (Cleveland, Ohio) and other newspapers and magazines. When we went on another trip to the island, we stayed at the nearby Wyndham Rose Hall.

Everything I saw and learned led me to include Rose Hall Plantation in my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember. Annie Palmer was an unforgettable character. She kept returning to my thoughts, and, although I never painted her, I was compelled to write about her. She had to be a character in my novel, Hearts Across Forever.

The paintings in my studio continued to evolve. So did the writing of my novel. Jamaica mesmerized me and persisted to invade my thoughts, so we returned again and again for more than a dozen visits.

My book still enthralls me. It is filled with "what if's" that might be "could be's". The paintings illustrate the visual power of Jamaica. The writing explains the magic.

Jamaica still beckons me. I long to return and to take with me copies of Hearts Across Forever.