Marybeth Heikes

Paintings in Watercolor & Mixed Media

Stunning Still Lifes

Peonies, Delphinium and Astilbe

Peonies, Delphinium and Astilbe

April 1, 2016

This lovely bouquet was painted from my reference photo taken last spring. The colors are fresh and  my goal was to capture the big shapes without getting bogged down with the details. It was a challenge painting this on my easel using the wet-in-wet technique. more »

Peony Perfection

Peony Perfection

March 24, 2016

Flowers are a favorite subject matter for me — they are so fresh and the vibrant colors are lovely. This bunch of peonies were set up in a vase on my table outside in direct sunlight, and I took many photographs from various angles. The result is not a duplicate of my photo, but an […] more »

Soldiers & Sables Awarded Third Place

Soldiers & Sables Awarded Third Place

March 4, 2016

Marybeth Heikes recently received the Third Place Award for her watercolor painting Soldiers & Sables at the 2016 National All Media Show. Her subject matter includes chairs and paint brushes on a full sheet paper, 22” x 30”. This exhibition is currently open at the Octagon Center for the Arts until April 7. Ms. Heikes’ […] more »

Apothecary

Apothecary

March 3, 2016

This is a small watercolor still life of some of antique bottles and jars. I have done numerous sketches because the transparency of glass interests me, and also the unique bottle shapes. Among the shapes are a clear, frosted larger bottle, an amber square necked jar and two red ones. I usually work from my […] more »

The King and Queen of Pots

The King and Queen of Pots

February 16, 2016

This was an exciting design to work on using my “Royal” Teapot given to me by my mother. It has various kings and queens of England on it and is decorated with intricate patterns. I edited much of the patterns and added other teapots from my collection to the composition. After that, I superimposed a […] more »

Mardi Gras Bouquet

Mardi Gras Bouquet

February 4, 2016

This design was specifically done for the annual Mardi Gras celebration. I used my reference photo of garden sunflowers. I love the big, bold shapes of the flowers! I cannot resist painting them because they are happy flowers and my favorites. After drawing the design directly on the archival foamboard, I begin with specific shapes […] more »

Palette Talk #4

Palette Talk #4

January 15, 2016

I find that painting in a series challenges me to create more dynamic designs using the same elements, and to capture a day in the life of an artist. For this piece I used a reference photo taken many years ago. Sometimes I use more than one photo when I initially pencil in the composition, […] more »

Amaryllis Abstraction

Amaryllis Abstraction

January 8, 2016

It began with a drawing from life of a beautiful Amaryllis, but I did not want to paint just an ordinary flower. Instead, I divided the paper into fractured planes, drawing around my initial design of the flower. The quilt-like shapes and value changes adds depth and interest to the flower. As I began painting, […] more »