Bicycle shapes are wonderful, and I am continually working on this series. The design possibilities are endless. I love the geometric shapes and the challenge of working on this theme. As the others, Iowa maps are used in the background. I used an archival foamboard for the support. Gel medium and a UV Varnish is […] more »
Another bicycle design! I am inspired by the geometric shapes of the bicycle. When working in a series, it is a challenge to come up with a fresh and interesting composition. I zeroed in on the front of the bike and focused on the gears and spokes. The Iowa map came into play too — […] more »
This is another urban scene of downtown Des Moines that I decided to rework. The colors and composition from the original needed strengthening. My reference photo was used in the first design. It is a view of the Capitol dome in the background with the red skywalk, rooftops and building shapes as seen from the […] more »
This past week I thought this collage needed an updating in the colors and composition. Although I liked parts of the design, I felt there were a couple areas I thought needed strengthening and improvement. It is a view of the urban landscape from the top of a parking ramp in downtown Des Moines. I’m pleased […] more »
Marybeth Heikes recently received a Merit Award at the Polk County Heritage Gallery on October 18, during the artists reception. Her winning entry, RAGBRAI, is an acrylic collage of a bicycle wheel with pieces of an Iowa map included in the background. The juror was Barb Vaske, Director of the Ankeny Art Center. She commented […] more »
Marybeth Heikes recently received an Honors Award in the annual Midwest National Abstract Exhibition in Indianapolis. She received a cash/ribbon award for her watercolor painting, Engine Series #5, part of her series of train engines. The juror, Paige Williams, commented on the piece: “The lushness of contrasting color and variation of edges creates a compelling push/pull spatial quality. […] more »
Two of Marybeth Heikes’ original collages have been selected for the 22nd annual Greater Des Moines Exhibition. Her collages, RAGBRAI, depicting a close up of a bicycle wheel and pieces of Iowa map of the Mississippi river towns, and Supreme Sunflowers with Red Stems, a floral bouquet, will be part of this exhibit featuring Iowa […] more »
I have been inspired by bicycles and decided to begin a fourth design in early August. It’s been a busy summer and taken me almost a month to complete this. Drawing is the foundation of all my work and I love doing loose, contour drawings to begin my piece. I believe contour drawing provides a […] more »
This artwork was done in conjunction with Velocity, using similar shapes, but with different colors. My goal was to complete an abstract piece without using a preliminary drawing. I concentrated on larger shapes and began with the letter “M.” Basically, I play with the shapes, adding, subtracting and moving elements around the picture space until the […] more »
It is a bit difficult doing an abstract design, having no sketch to work from. I began by choosing some of my textured, hand-painted papers and concentrating on big shapes and colors. It took me a while with the placement of these, adding other shapes and subtracting ones I didn’t like. This is mostly an intuitive process where […] more »