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.

Excitement Looms, Art Gleams, Gallery Glows with Enthusiasm

Michele Craft with Bonnie Koenig paintings ©Mary Montague Sikes

Beautiful art enchants me. It always has. Enthusiastic people inspire me. They always will.

The Ward Center for Contemporary Art has both. On the second Friday for the Arts, that is evident. At mid-afternoon, artists begin to appear, bringing in new work, photographing their shows already hanging, discussing past events. Soon, musicians begin to wheel in instruments and set-up equipment. Caterers show up with their necessities for a successful Open House.

During the process, there are lots of smiles, especially from Michele Craft, the Center's events coordinator, and from Tammy Gray who is charming and enthusiastic as she tidies up the entrance and offers help where needed.

"It's just fun," Craft says. "Last opening I met so many people. Just love it." Born in Manhattan and from Rochester NY, Craft started working at the Art Center during the summer. She and her husband live in Petersburg.

Bonnie E. Koenig is one of the artists featured in the Grand Gallery during this Open House. A native of

"Responses to Nature" - Bonnie Koenig ©Mary Montague Sikes

Virginia, she finds her inspiration in the "intricacies and colors of nature and from natural formations." She loves beautiful landscapes and painted more traditionally early in her career. Some of her work now is from on-site compositions; other pieces come from an internal source.

Koenig uses unconventional tools such as kitchen spatulas in her mixed media paintings. She says that patiently layering colors "creates mood and place" in her work. They are lovely and thought-provocative works of art.