Marybeth Heikes

Paintings in Watercolor & Mixed Media

Posts Tagged “Map”

Scenic Route Along the Cedar River

Scenic Route Along the Cedar River

May 31, 2016

I have been doing a series of bicycles for my upcoming show for the Artisan’s Gallery in Des Moines. This is the seventh in the series. While cutting some of the map pieces, I have been noticing places of interest and small towns in the state of Iowa. Especially interesting are the scenic routes. The […] more »

Biking Six

Biking Six

May 26, 2016

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 »

Biking #5

Biking #5

April 14, 2016

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 »

Windmill at Forbush Road

Windmill at Forbush Road

January 21, 2016

For this piece, I used one of my reference photos taken many years ago of a barn down the road. I added a windmill from another neighbor’s farm, as it’s a popular agricultural icon. I used artistic license for the barn’s colors. Another favorite element of my farmscapes is using an Iowa map for the […] more »

Merit Award for RAGBRAI

Merit Award for RAGBRAI

October 26, 2015

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 »

Pedal Power

Pedal Power

September 24, 2015

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 »

Iowa Barn

Iowa Barn

May 14, 2015

I enjoy working on larger collages, and this is an old barn in southeast Iowa. As always, I worked from my photo and edited the shapes. This is a close-up of just part of the barn. The shapes are simple and I try not to get too detailed — which is one of the reasons […] more »

Zephyr

Zephyr

April 16, 2015

This painting is done from a photo of the old Zephyr engine located in Albia, Iowa. Currently I am working on a series of different train engines in collage. I find these old engines fascinating and love painting them using my acrylic hand-painted papers. All the details on the engines add interest: the bell, railing, […] more »

Engine Nine Zero 45

Engine Nine Zero 45

April 9, 2015

This collage is a continuation of my popular train engine series. I have been doing engines for a number of years now. This one is a close-up of a Union Pacific. I used one of my reference photos for this. The details of the engine caught my eye: the shadow shapes, the numerals and flag, […] more »

Nine Seventy Three

Nine Seventy Three

April 7, 2015

This collage painting is one of my Engine Series. It is the Appanoose County Red engine, circa 1952. It has been recently repainted a bright red with white stripes. I worked from my photographs, and designed a vertical format which accentuates the dynamic bulk of the engine. Some of the foreground papers have oil pastel […] more »