Monday, November 9, 2015

Art Open House at Prince George Gallery in Williamsburg

"Painting from a Still Life"
Last Saturday, I was one of about 10 gallery artists who participated in an Open House at Prince George Art and Frame in Williamsburg VA. Four of us, Bonnie Coyle, Edwin Green, Patricia Rapoport, and I, painted from a still life set up by gallery owner Fred Miller. Others, like Hank Mook, a papier mache artist, demonstrated how they create their work. It's not often I get to be with other artists with the opportunity to paint, so this was a fun event.

"Pumpkin and Flowers" ©Mary Montague Sikes
We each got to know more about the other artists who share space on the walls of Prince George Gallery, and we also had the opportunity to talk with those people who dropped in to visit and watch us at work. It would be fun to have more of these Open House events with artist demonstrations in other areas, including Petersburg, at The Ward Center for Contemporary Art. 

Although I don't usually work in pastels, I used them to create a painting on 300-pound Arches paper, 15 x 11. Before going to the gallery, I primed the paper with orange acrylic paint. I also did a small 5 x 7 still life on pastelbord, a surface I had never before used for soft pastels.