Marybeth Heikes

Paintings in Watercolor & Mixed Media

Posts Tagged “Pink”

Poetic Poppies

Poetic Poppies

April 29, 2016

Flowers are a consistent theme in my work. I work from life, drawing my garden flowers and taking numerous photos. I began with an idea for the design and sketched it out on tracing paper the same size as my paper support; in this case I used 300# Arches watercolor paper. The heavier paper doesn’t […] more »

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 »

Fowl Attitudes

Fowl Attitudes

November 3, 2015

Lately I seem to be creating a lot of different birds! This one started with some loose, contour drawings of chickens, which I think are funny birds. I love the variegated feathers and textures on the birds. After I completed some drawings, I used my tracing paper to combine some of them into a pleasing design. […] more »

Orbital

Orbital

September 1, 2015

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 »

Valentine Wishes

Valentine Wishes

March 17, 2015

This piece was inspired by some antique bottles my mother sent me. I love the shapes and colors of the bottles, but I did not use the original colors. I completed numerous drawings of the bottles first, then edited and designed the composition without adhering to the sketches. I allowed for changes while working on […] more »

Balloon Flowers

Balloon Flowers

February 24, 2015

This piece was done from my original sketchbook drawing. I worked from the actual flowers, paying close attention to the floral forms and stems. These flowers are a beautiful soft blue or periwinkle color. My design is a little abstract and I was nearing completion, I added a butterfly shape which is partially hidden. It was […] more »

Confetti Tulips

Confetti Tulips

February 6, 2015

Flowers are one of my favorite subjects. For this collage, I used one of my sketches done in 2005. I love the shapes of tulips and the curved leaf patterns. I did not have a background planned, but improvised one using paper scraps to keep it fresh and exciting. The tiny triangle pieces were nipped from […] more »

Compromises

Compromises

February 4, 2015

This is the first small-sized abstract I have completed in collage. It was inspired by Kandinsky’s work — I love the geometric shapes, the triangles, circles and squares. I began by cutting various shapes and assembling the design. Collage is wonderful for being able to move things around before you permanently adhere the shapes. And […] more »

Lotus Buds

Lotus Buds

February 2, 2015

This is another in a series of the beautiful lotus plant. I usually work from my photo and do a preliminary sketch and simplify shapes. The leaf shapes were edited, as there were too many to add anything extra to the design. The main focus are the buds of these flowers. This collage is done on […] more »