Mary Wykes
Grand Prairie, TX - United States
Mary Wykes - Fine Artist
Member Since: 08/15/2009
Registered Instructor for the Wilcox School of Color courses: check my events section if you would like to gain control over color mixing!
Awards:
2009 Members' Show of the Society of Watercolor Artists of Fort Worth - Honorable Mention
In 2008, I made the decision to pursue a lifelong dream of being an artist. Though I have always had a yearning to be an artist, prior to that point I had only dabbled in art. I have however made it a point to include creative pursuits in my life for as long as I can remember. In the past they have included singing, songwriting, playing piano and guitar, quilting, crochet, knitting, macramé and spinning my own yarn. Yet I held back from actually painting or drawing because I didn't think I had the time. I didn't think I had the necessary training. I didn't think I had the talent.
In high school I did take one semester of art. I wanted to continue, but was not allowed to take both choir and art. Music was the pursuit that was encouraged by my family, so I set the art aside. At Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, as I was majoring in music - I had a friend who was doing a double major in art and music. Though I thought he was insane to try to do it, I was jealous. In 1975 I finally signed up for an art class, and studied oil painting for 6 months.
Then I let life get in the way, and didn't get back to art until 2005. That summer I attended a workshop in glass etching, and a watercolor workshop with Sue Scheewe. I loved it! When I came home I signed up for watercolor classes and painted happily for a few months. A family crisis interfered, and discouraged, I once again set the art aside. There was a constant grieving in my spirit that I was not an artist.
In 2008 I made a commitment to myself. I made art a priority in my life. From that point on, I have attended watercolor classes taught by Ann Winchester on a weekly basis. I paint 3 - 6 days a week. I have been thrilled at the progress I have made, and begun doing my own original work. I am now doing commissioned work, and have won my first awards.
When I am painting, it feels like being an artist is more who I am at the core than anything else I have ever done. For me, painting is meditation. In each piece I strive to embody the emotion that I feel for my subject. I do my painting now in spite of vision challenges, as I have had two retinal surgeries in 2009. I now have the goal of becoming a fulltime professional artist, specializing in watercolor portraits
I have always loved colors, to the point that I sometimes thank God for specific colors when I say my prayers at night. It therefore seems like a good fit that I am now a registered instructor for the Michael Wilcox School of Color. Michael's materials have given me so much insight into color mixing and I look forward to learning more as I continue to study them. I also look forward to sharing this information with other artists.
I have three grown children and four grandchildren. I live with my highschool sweetheart, who has been my husband now for 41 years. We also have a sweet cockerspaniel named Daisy.
