Think Local and Support Artists in Your Town or City

Jim Pittman painting

Carole Barnes painting

On the Internet and in e-mails, I am seeing more and more posts and photos urging folks to "Buy Local" and "Support Your Local Artists". Last week, I attended an Open House at New Town Art Gallery in Williamsburg where I marveled at the outstanding work on view by the gallery artists as well as the visiting artists there. I could stand and look at the Jim Pittman paintings for a very long time and always discover something new in his brushwork and design. His painting to the left was not in the show but is similar to the works there although brighter in color. Paintings by Carole Barnes blended in well with the Pittman work, making a strong entrance display at New Town. The work of both artists has a distinct tie and feel of antiquity. I've enjoyed Carole's art for years and on more than one occasion have taken a workshop with her.

"Will There Be Peace Anywhere?" ©Mary Montague Sikes

While in Williamsburg, I stopped by Prince George Art and Frame where a show of work by the gallery artists is on display.  My painting, "Will There Be Peace Anywhere?" is one of the pieces on view there.

Local gallery artists have a continuing show at the Art Speaks  Gallery at the Mathews Bay School. "Field of Poppies", an encaustic is one of my pieces for sale there.

"Field of Poppies" ©Mary Montague Sikes

My mixed media painting, "Heat of Summer" is featured along with work by other area artists in the Claris Financial Art Gallery at Innsbrook in Richmond.

"Heat of Summer" ©Mary Montague Sikes

In Petersburg, the new Ward Center for Contemporary Art has paintings and sculpture by a variety of mostly Virginia artists on display on three levels. The Grand Gallery is a spacious and impressive location for large-scale art. My painting, "The Red Bud", is on display in the studio area, "Cockade Alley", located behind the Grand Gallery.

"The Red Bud" ©Mary Montague Sikes

Crossroads Art Center in Richmond is a thriving sales venue for artists in all price ranges. Not only does the gallery feature and promote local art, but the Center has numerous workshops throughout the year.

With so many locations for artists throughout the state, I hope people, especially art lovers, will consider visiting their local art galleries and other art display venues as they go about their holiday shopping. Many of the galleries in Virginia also have work available for sale on line.

Please support your local artists.

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.