Marybeth Heikes

Paintings in Watercolor & Mixed Media

Stunning Still Lifes

Dancing Daffodil

Dancing Daffodil

April 5, 2010

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 […] more »

Parrot Tulips

Parrot Tulips

March 16, 2010

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 more »

Velvety Tulips

Velvety Tulips

March 14, 2010

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 […] more »

Heliotropes at Midnight

Heliotropes at Midnight

February 10, 2010

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 […] more »

Poppy & Pod

Poppy & Pod

January 20, 2010

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 […] more »

Orchard Pears

Orchard Pears

December 11, 2009

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 […] more »

Walk On Farmers Market

Walk On Farmers Market

September 10, 2009

Hello! Thank you all for coming to Ottumwa’s Walk On Art Street festival last weekend — the weather was perfect and art lovers were out in full force! I enjoyed talking with old friends and meeting new ones. [...] more »

Strawberry Blonde and Evening Sun

Strawberry Blonde and Evening Sun

September 9, 2009

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, […] more »

Red Delicious Tableau

Red Delicious Tableau

August 30, 2009

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 […] more »