Marybeth Heikes » Stunning Still Lifes

Nectarines and Teapots

mheikes — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 04:57:18 +0000

I’ve been painting teapots for a number of years. These teapots are part of my collection that I set up outside on a glass table with mirrors and the fruit. I liked the reflections in the mirrors — they add great dimensional interest! It is a complex arrangement and the teapots seem to be in motion, almost dancing. The double shapes of the shadows were neat too. The only thing I didn’t think of when setting it up was how to paint the surface of the table. It was pebbly-textured and, finishing up, I decided on using Seurat’s pointillism. I felt this was very successful and liked the final product.

Artistic Aubergines

mheikes — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:00:00 +0000

I wanted to set up a still life that included some of the eggplants from our garden this year. I added one of my favorite aquamarine goblets and some of my art books that have inspired me through the years. I didn’t realize the book cover would be so complicated to paint; of course, it has the same blue-green colors as the glass. The wood texture of the gazebo was also a painting challenge. I feel the final result was very successful!

Three Brownies

mheikes — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:00:00 +0000

I took this picture of these old cameras at a friend’s antique shop. It reminded me about how the technology has changed so much from these types of cameras and how much easier it is to use the digital devices. These cameras will certainly bring back memories for some folks! This painting was started at the beginning of June and took me about a month to complete.

Grapes & Bananas

mheikes — Fri, 20 May 2011 05:00:00 +0000

The challenge was to paint a still life in a petite format, something I hadn’t tried before. It was successful and I ended up doing a series of these.

Delightful Daffodil

mheikes — Tue, 11 May 2010 05:00:00 +0000

For this painting, I picked a single blossom and put it in a drinking glass. This is part of my daffodil series; maybe I should have titled it Endless Daffodils.

Sunlit Daffodils

mheikes — Fri, 07 May 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I can’t seem to get daffodils out of my mind — their subtle coloring and their ruffled petals draws my attention this year.

This painting was done combining a couple of my photographs and is the fifth one in this series.

Japanese Iris

mheikes — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

These irises are smaller than the bearded irises, and the blossoms don’t last very long. What attracts me to these flowers is the color — a very intense purple. They also are early spring flowers, and I take lots of photos of them outside and also as a cut flower in vases. I used dioxazine purple with some quinacridone coral to warm up sections of the flower. I decided to keep the design simple with a single bloom.

Jonquils #4

mheikes — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Painting the flowers from my garden is almost a religious experience. Jonquils are a true sign of spring, along with the bright red tulips. Duplicating the colors of nature with watercolor pigments is difficult. So many nuances are found while observing the flowers when painting. I try to capture the freshness and vitality of the flowers — in the soft curving petals of each bloom and the light contrasting with the shadows.

Jonquils #3

mheikes — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

These three paintings are of my newly bloomed daffodils, a symbol of spring. I worked from my photos of the flowers and my intention was to complete a small, floral study daily as my garden flowers bloom, and to offer an affordable price for an original artwork.

Jonquil & Rhubarb

mheikes — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

These three paintings are of my newly bloomed daffodils, a symbol of spring. This jonquil composition includes a stalk of rhubarb. I thought it was an interesting combination.

Dancing Daffodil

mheikes — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:00:00 +0000

These three paintings are of my newly bloomed daffodils, a symbol of spring. I worked from my photos of the flowers and my intention was to complete a small, floral study daily as my garden flowers bloom and to offer an affordable price for an original artwork. Another challenge was using some unusual, smaller-sized cut mats I had on hand.

Daffodils and Purple Tulips

mheikes — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

The third of this series features a large opened purple tulip and two daffodils tucked under it. There is a red tulip on the left side under a purple tulip.

Parrot Tulips

mheikes — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

The second in my series of the tulips. This design includes three purple tulips on top, red tulip with a black center, a daffodil squeezed between them on the left, and a bright yellow parrot tulip with the red strips

Velvety Tulips

mheikes — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0000

Because of our unusually long and snowy winter, I have been anxious to paint a spring subject.

These are some tulips and daffodils from my garden bouquet photographed a couple years ago. I was inspired by the gorgeous hues and non-formal arrangement of the flowers in a simple glass tumbler. They were photographed outside, and once I started taking lots of shots, the flowers naturally opened up. This allowed me to include all portions of the flower’s center. The challenge was using an odd scrap of paper for the composition instead of a standard size, which usually seems bland — the paper size and cropping of the photo actually emphasized the design. This design includes a purple and red tulip and a variegated yellow/red tulip.

Heliotropes at Midnight

mheikes — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 05:00:00 +0000

This vertical composition of sunflowers continues to fascinate me. It is my favorite flower — a showy, bright flower, in endless varieties! These blooms are from my garden last year, teamed up with a striped cloth bought at the farmers market. For the sake of design, the cloth is altered, emphasizing the flowers. The textured papers are hand-painted, and part of the purple-hued cloth is actually the frottage technique using oil pastels with acrylic paint on top of it. Lately I have been experimenting with other ways of applying paint to the papers.

Poppy & Pod

mheikes — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:00:00 +0000

I was inspired by my garden poppies last year. While looking over the file photos, I decided to include more textures using oil pastels with an acrylic wash over that. This was something new, and it worked perfectly for the ruffled, crinkled petals of the flower. While adhering the rice paper, some of the soft pastels blended onto the background paper. I also used some interference violet pigments to give it an ethereal effect.

Orchard Pears

mheikes — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I decided to use on of my earlier photos of the purple goblets for this piece — I wanted to get back to the purple colors and our pears from the orchard. I was attracted to the strong sunlight patterns and the wood texture of the table.

I wanted to capture the abstract patterns in the goblets too, as I had painted these two years ago and didn’t think the results were my best. It was difficult painting these because of the variety and color in the abstractions. I feel my second attempt is more successful. The results are vastly different mostly because I used different supports. The first painting was on 300# paper which allows for more pigment manipulation, but I feel dulls the colors a bit. The second painting was done on 140# paper and the pigments sit on it more brilliantly, but has the tendency to buckle more.

Strawberry Blonde and Evening Sun

mheikes — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I painted this because of my love for sunflowers, and I planted six different varieties this year. The title includes names of two varieties. Instead of one big bouquet, I just used one bloom per glass, which simplifies the composition. The fabric cloth was purchased at the Des Moines Farmers Market last month.

Interestingly enough, my Siamese cat is in the picture behind the sunflowers. I painted her into the picture because some of the shapes and reflections were included in the glass and affected the color pattern.

Red Delicious Tableau

mheikes — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

This is a continuation of my glassware series combining red elements — the apples which are a favorite design shape and the silk scarf woven around the glasses.

There was a lot to think about while painting this: getting the sharp crispness of the apples and glass with the softness of the fabric, and working with the wood texture of the table. I’m intrigued by the abstract patterns of the shapes behind the glass and how those shapes get fractured and distorted. Using a limited palette, rather than my usual array of every color in my box, was a challenge.

Slices & Spots

mheikes — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I spent some time setting up this still life and decided to cut apples on the dark patterned cloth. This was partially painted at my demo at Tassel Ridge Winery in July.

Radiant Reds

mheikes — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 05:00:00 +0000

A garden floral design with colors of cerise and orange-red. I wanted the background to sing — so I included the warm yellow-greens.

Golden Petals

mheikes — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I created this because I’m inspired by the colors of sunflowers and never get tired of them. I grow them in my garden and try different varieties every year. I’ve lost track exactly how many sunflower paintings I’ve done.

Oleanders & Goblets

mheikes — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

A still life with Van Gogh’s print.

Summer Bouquet #159

mheikes — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I love sunflowers! I have lost track of how many I’ve painted, which is the reason why the title is a number instead of a sunflower variety. Along with the sunflowers I’ve added another one of my favorite flowers, cosmos. I like the way their delicate shapes contrast with that of the sunflowers’ big and bold shapes.

June Sunflowers

mheikes — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

One of my many sunflower bouquets. I love big, bold flowers and I planted six different sunflower varieties in my garden this year. I changed the vase motif a bit, with the vase sitting on the deck.

Periwinkles

mheikes — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

A handful of periwinkle blue posies in a vase, in a square format.

May Poppies

mheikes — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 05:00:00 +0000

Picked a small bouquet of poppies and peonies. I love the colors of the warm orangish red in the poppies and the cool, delicate pinks of the peonies. The design is just a piece of the whole bouquet up close.

Study For Oleanders

mheikes — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

After setting up various still life items, I decided to do a small study and explore the design shapes and colors. Not having any fresh flowers, I used a picture of a bouquet. What excited me about this was the spring lemon-yellow-greens of Van Gogh’s “Oleanders”. I love this color and works well with the complementary color of the apples.

Braeburns

mheikes — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 05:00:00 +0000

I completed this still life with two new glassware pieces, given to me by my daughter. The reflections were difficult to render in the vase and tall bottle, but I like the arrangement of the fruit, wood table and drapery.

Turquoise Goblets & Polka Dots

mheikes — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 05:00:00 +0000

This still life was set up in morning sunlight in our sunroom on a glass table.

Amber & Blue

mheikes — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Lady Liberty

mheikes — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Apricots & Goblets

mheikes — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 05:00:00 +0000

I chose to paint this goblet because it was one of the new glasses that I bought recently. I got it from Pier 1, but it is similar in glass design as the purple goblets that I bought at the Home Collection in Centerville. And they have the distinct tiny bubbles in the glass if you look closely.

I like the contrast of the turquoise glass and the yellow apricots. The man-made glass and wood grain of the table complements the soft natural forms of nature and the soft sunlight of the morning. You can also see tree forms behind the window — very soft and kind of indistinct — that I painted in a chromium green.

Goliath Sunflowers

mheikes — Thu, 29 May 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Another one of the hundreds of sunflowers painted from my garden. I enjoyed the challenge of formatting a vertical bouquet into a more oblong design.

Scarlet Tulips in Hull Vase

mheikes — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Our garden tulips, luckily untouched by deer this year. I arranged them in a collectible Hull “tulip” vase with 3 finger holes on the sides.

Magenta Cosmos

mheikes — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Cosmos are a very showy flower and I love the colors.

Third Rose

mheikes — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

A simple piece using a single bloom in a martini glass.

Apples & Cubes

mheikes — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This a study (smaller version) of the Apple Martini Monopoly painting.

Green Goblet

mheikes — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

A smaller version of my glassware tableau.

Saturday Sunflowers

mheikes — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

A bunch of petite sunflowers in a glass jar.

Dominoes

mheikes — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This is part of the glassware series, with dominoes in the martini glass. Dominoes have been in some of my earlier watercolors of the 90’s in my popular Chairs Series, and before that in some of my woodblock designs in the late 80’s.

Apple Martini Monopoly

mheikes — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0000

I set up this still life on the kitchen countertop. It is a more complicated and challenging composition with the fruit, glass, gameboard surface and ice cubes.

Winter Apples

mheikes — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Another still life set up with the granny smith apples and glassware in the sunroom, worked from my photograph. I wanted to portray the green, crisp apples on the glass table with the glasses and red napkin.

Four Grannies

mheikes — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0000

I set up this still life in our sunroom and worked from the photo. The glassware still lifes are great to paint in winter when I don’t have the garden bouquets to do, and the quality of light is different in the winter.

Blue Bench Sunflowers

mheikes — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This is a floral bouquet of garden flowers set up on a bench. I have discovered there are many different varieties of sunflowers — the big, bold shapes are easy to paint and are eye catching bouquets.

Starburst Blaze

mheikes — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0000

This is a floral bouquet of our garden sunflowers. Every year I plan my garden thinking of the bouquets to paint. I then set them up inside in direct sunlight, or outside on our front deck or gazebo in sunlight during different hours of the day to capture shadow patterns and sunlight on the flowers.

Dylan’s Martini Blues

mheikes — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 05:00:00 +0000

Part of the glassware series still lifes, this is a portrait of Bob Dylan with a martini glass on a wood table. The combination of the portrait and glass was very challenging; the glass patterns are an interesting contrast with the softer angles of the portrait. The wood texture adds to the linear quality of the design.

Blue Vase / Warm Pinks

mheikes — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Zinnias and cosmos.

Sundown Sunflowers

mheikes — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:00:00 +0000

August Bouquet

mheikes — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 05:00:00 +0000

My garden flower zinnias, black-eyed susans, violet-lavendar gladiolas, and blue balloonflowers.

Tribute To Bob

mheikes — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Still life with glassware and Bob Dylan photos and CD covers.

Susans and Sunflowers

mheikes — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Yellow black-eyed susans and teddy bear sunflowers and blue balloon flowers.

Zesty Zinnias

mheikes — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Large red and pink zinnias on a plain background.

Champagne & Hearts

mheikes — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Spring Blossoms: Tulip Bed

mheikes — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Lots of big yellow and red tulips with a dark background.

Gazebo Bouquet

mheikes — Thu, 10 May 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Teddybear sunflowers, zinnias, gladiolas, and cosmos.

Presidential

mheikes — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Jimmy Carter, Teddy Roosevelt, and Harry Truman.

Sunflower Vignette

mheikes — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 05:00:00 +0000

A bouquet I set up outside. I edited out the background to focus on the flower.

Leadership

mheikes — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 05:00:00 +0000

FDR, Eisenhower, Truman, Washington, Harrison, and Tyler.

Blue Sunflowers

mheikes — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Harry & George

mheikes — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Presidents in the painting include John Tyler, Harry Truman, Washington, Ben Harrison, Eisenhower, and FDR.

March Sunflower Bouquet

mheikes — Thu, 22 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Men Of Integrity

mheikes — Wed, 21 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Images of the presidents — John Tyler, John Adams, Hoover, Washington, Andrew Jackson, FDR and others, with a blue grass and a martini glass.

Red, White & Blue

mheikes — Thu, 15 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

A martini glass, wine glass, blue glass and hearts cards. Winner of the IWS Award in 2007.

Hearts & Glass

mheikes — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Martini and wine glass with hearts playing cards.

Double Yellow Peonies

mheikes — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Peonies, a symbol of longevity.

Lotus with Two Buds

mheikes — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 05:00:00 +0000

The lotus, a symbol of purity and truth.

Coral Hibiscus

mheikes — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Delicate Blossoms

mheikes — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Composition In Red

mheikes — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 05:00:00 +0000

A glass still life with playing cards.

Carmine Rose In Glass

mheikes — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Doubles

mheikes — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Two blue glasses, a martini glass, and fluted red stemmed glasses, with pears and an apple.

Blue Glass

mheikes — Tue, 23 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Blue and turquoise glasses on a highly patterned cloth.

January Glass Patterns

mheikes — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Red stemmed martini glass, pear, and blue goblet.

Bridge Mix Martini

mheikes — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Chocolate bridge mix in a martini glass with a red, bubbly stem.

Cinderella

mheikes — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0000

A pink rose in a martini glass, on a wood table.

Glass Patterns #8

mheikes — Sat, 09 Dec 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Glass Abstractions #7

mheikes — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0000

This piece won the Honorable Mention award at Sanford Museum in 2007.

Apple Pear Martini (Glassware Pattern #6)

mheikes — Sun, 05 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Pears, red stemware, and martini glasses.

Goblet Patterns #5

mheikes — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Goblet Patterns #3

mheikes — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Another angle of the purple goblets on the wood table, showing the contrast of the glass, wood grain and fruit textures. The pears lead into the design and the shadow patterns weave the glass and fruit together. All the glass stems reflect different shapes of the fruit and sunlit passages. This was painted on 300# paper, which takes a lot of reworking if necessary and resists buckling.

Stemware/Glass #4

mheikes — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 05:00:00 +0000

This design includes the martini glasses, a bronze champagne glass, and turquoise Mexican glassware, along with the pears. With each glass composition I painted, I thought about other possibilites for designs — it gets more exciting with each painting I complete. This painting is basically a primary triad of red, yellow and blue. Another challenge was the opaque champagne glass and how it reflected everything around it like a mirror. This painting was exhibited at the Octagon’s annual winter show in 2007.

Goblets #1 (Sunday Shadows)

mheikes — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 05:00:00 +0000

This is the first still life with glassware that I started in early October 2006. I set up the still life with my favorite purple goblets with pears in the sunroom, and worked from my photos because the light changes constantly.

What drew my eye were the glass abstractions and distortions of color patterns and the shadow patterns on the wood table. Once I started painting, I noticed more details, such as the color reflections in the glass — a very complicated design!

Goblets #2

mheikes — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 05:00:00 +0000

A smaller version of the first design — an intimate close-up.
The pears have lots of color reflections, and the goblets had lots of bubbles in the glass, which I simplified. What intrigued me was the fruit and handle shapes reflected in the goblet’s stems.

Blue Rug

mheikes — Mon, 25 Sep 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Tomatoes on Blue Dish

mheikes — Tue, 15 Aug 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Window Tulips

mheikes — Thu, 05 Jan 2006 05:00:00 +0000

Coneflower Study

mheikes — Mon, 15 Aug 2005 05:00:00 +0000

Mixed Bouquet (Sunflower & Pinks)

mheikes — Sat, 19 Mar 2005 05:00:00 +0000

November Sunflowers

mheikes — Mon, 11 Nov 2002 05:00:00 +0000