Lives in: Rockville, MD

Media & Subject: Acrylic (including fluorescent and phosphorescent versions) and mixed media. My subjects are primarily sourced from science fiction and fantasy.

Your experiences as an artist: In reflecting on my public experiences as an artist, I feel that I have had three periods when I actively exhibited my paintings: in my 20s with my father at Sundays in the Park in Boston, at Third Friday events in downtown Salisbury, MD a decade ago, and now with MAA.  My work has been shown in the Creative Expressions receiving and Honorable Mention in the Portrait category; Kensington Library, and the Kensington Paint the Town Show, Colorful Exploration at Glenview Mansion, Oasis Gallery, and the more recent virtual Portrait Show. 

Why you joined MAA: I joined MAA in March 2019 because I wanted to meet other visual artists in the area and to have the opportunity to exhibit with them and support each other. 

Why you volunteered to Chair Hospitality: I volunteered to join the MAA board and become the committee chair for hospitality because I liked throwing parties! Bringing good food and drink is all about making any event a party. I recommended Bota Nero in Rockville, MD to cater the Paint the Town Show – MAA’s largest annual show. I thought it was important to have a source of delicious, varied, and safely prepared food for such a large public event.  I think that really raised the fun level of the show and most people really liked the food and sangria.

Why you want to be the Co-VP of Shows: I enjoy helping to create a variety of art events for our members, increasing their visibility to the public in a way that enhances their ability to sell their work.

Something fun about you: In addition to being a crazy chemist, throwing in chemical effects to enhance my art, I am also a science fiction and fantasy writer and won 3^rd place for a short story submitted to the 2020 Baltimore Science Fiction Society Amateur Writing Contest.

Artist Biography:  I started doing visual art at the age of 4, learning from my late father, James Marcus Mitchell, co-founder of the Boston Afro-American Artists Association.  When I was in college, my father and I exhibited together at the outdoor Sunday in the Park art shows in Roxbury, the largest African-American section of Boston.

My love of both science and art made me stay involved in both. Even while getting my B.S. in chemistry at M.I.T. in Cambridge, MA, I painted a sea monster on the wall of my coed fraternity.  After getting my Ph.D. in organic chemistry and retired after 23+ years as a chemistry professor, I now have the opportunity in my new science editor job to be more deeply immersed in the visual arts.  One of my central themes is otherness, representing that which is outside of our normal experience in a way that challenges instinctive rejection of the other, fostering both intellectual and spiritual growth. Otherness fits in well with my love of creating science fiction and fantasy art. My application of fluorescence and phosphorescence in some of my paintings accentuates light-dark interplay and enhances the illusion of depth.

Website: https://miguelmitchell.wixsite.com/miguelmitchellsart

                

​By Martina Sestakova

Members of Montgomery Art Association come from all walks of life and their artworks and creative processes reflect this wonderful variety. In this blog, we invite you to enjoy a selection of pieces that explore REPETITION in art. Enjoy this lovely variety of ideas!

Angela White, "Transition" (24x30" encaustic on wood cradle). It’s the first painting where I combined repeated patterns with sea/landscape imagery.

Martina Sestakova, "At This Very Moment" (4x6, watercolor on yupo). I enjoy using lines in my artworks: as a repetitive elements and a pattern aspect. I often think of trunks of trees as lines, of rivers and their twists as lines. Doing the same movement with my brush feels healing and meditative to me. e movement with my brush feels healing and meditative to me.

Alexandra Treadaway, "Swallowtail's Pleasure" (22" x 11" watercolor). Repetitive background in ‘neutral’ watercolors to show off Swallowtail repeatedly sipping nectar.

Heather Pattee Medrano, "Abstract Tree" ( 36" x 24" mixed media on canvas). Patterns within the tree, patterns in background, patterns within patterns. 

Stacy Dean Yochum, "My Dream of Jazz" (22" x 14" collage on paper). I love stripes and dots!

Peijisan Art, "Vote" (9" x 12" ink and marker on paper). This was my winning design chosen for the Montgomery County "promote the Vote" mural contest that ended up being turned into a banner and posted to encourage voting in the Wheaton, MD area this past Oct-Nov.

Vicky Surles, "Pumpkin Gourds" (11" x 14" watercolor). So many seasonal orange gourds in a huge box at the farmers market.

Marti Wells, "Waiting for Godot" (11" x 14" watercolors). I saw these Terns walking on the beach.

Anne Albright, "Repetition - Pattern - Rhythm" (9" x 12" watercolor and Posco acrylic pens). I created this for a watercolor class project. I love doing my watercolor and pen doodles, so I incorporated those into the painting and added Posco acrylic pens for the white shapes. 

John Mac Arthur, "Bringing in the Sheep" (14" x 18" acrylic). Making America great may only feed the wolves.

Rosemary Behizadeh Yue, "Lake Colors" (12" x 12" acrylic on canvas). The water reflection holds a repetitive pattern. 

Jenny Wilson, "Cherry Blossom" (30" x 40" acrylic on canvas). I am looking forward to spring and the wonder of this beautiful gift from Japan.

Elissa Leibowitz Poma, "3 Monks in the Rain" (6" x 9" watercolor and ink on paper). When I look for repetition when making urban sketches, I seek out items in threes or fives—but make each one slightly different, for interest.

Leslie Kraff, "River Road Fences" (16" x 20" oil). 

Kathy Farrell Tynan, "Oregon Coastal Storm" (30" x 27" soft pastel). I experienced this lovely empty beach while traveling the coast of Oregon. The waves seemed to stretch out as far as the eye could see.

Alan Rich, "#120" (24" x 56" fluid pour on hollow door panel). I used about 12 different colors and some granular gel for texture. Set up on level table and did it all in one session. The colors migrated all on their own without manipulating the panel.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the artworks of our members! Be sure to check out our other blogs as we celebrate the unique artworks of local Montgomery County artists. 

Lives in: Moved to Cascade, Maryland five years ago after growing up and raising my 6 children in Bethesda.

Website: LesleyRiley.com

Media and subjects: Mixed media with a "double major" in cyanotype and modern botanicals + art quilts

Why you joined MAA: I am looking for more connection with local artists

Something fun about you: I am a 6th generation Washingtonian, married my high-school sweetheart and have 6 children and soon-to-be 16 grandchildren. Since first-grade, six has always been my lucky number.

Social Media:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lrileyart/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/lesley.riley.art/

Artist Biography:  Lesley Riley never intended to be a full-time, professional artist. She just followed her passion in the small blocks of time she carved out while raising six children. Now, as an internationally known instructor and multi-media artist, Lesley works in botanical printing, mixed and digital media, paint and art quilts. In 1999 she turned her initial passion for fabric, photos, color and the written word into a dream “occupassion” that continues to delight and inspire creatives and art lovers everywhere. Lesley has an extensive background in using color and pattern to create innovative art quilts, fabric collage and most recently modern botanical prints.  Her art has appeared in several books and publications and is collected worldwide.

Lesley has written several books and articles and has been a guest on several episodes of Quilting Arts TV, profiled on The Quilt Show and is an educator for Golden Artist Colors. In 2008, Lesley developed TAP Transfer Artist Paper for quilters and artists. Her line of botanical inspired fabric, Foliage, is licensed with Northcott Fabrics. As a sought-after workshop instructor, Lesley focuses on motivating, inspiring and empowering her students to take their creative life into their own hands, while encouraging her students to take risks, think outside the box and break rules. Her emphasis is on understanding composition and using techniques and materials to discover and enhance the maker’s own creativity and unique voice.

Lesley's work has been exhibited in solo and group shows and received the Viewers Choice award at the 2000 Frederick County Art Association Members show.

 

​By Martina Sestakova

Members of Montgomery Art Association come from all walks of life and their artworks and creative processes reflect this wonderful variety. In this blog, we invite you to enjoy a selection of pieces that ponder a moment of PAUSE in art. Enjoy this lovely variety of ideas! 

Rosemary Behizadeh Yue: What's better than a moody day at the beach? Just cozy up and watch the waves crash...  Acrylic on Canvas, 16x20" 

Anastasia Walsh: My submission, no title yet for this painting. A Maine sailor with his gin and tonic at the end of a day... Alcohol Ink on Glass

Carrie Horton: I love this new art technique: painting, cutting, piercing, quilting... Nature's Edge, Acrylic Canvas Quilt, 17.5x11.5"

Judith Levine: I don't remember what they were rehearsing, only that these two dancers had taken a few moments to rest by one of the huge oval windows in one of the ballet rehearsal halls of the Paris Opera. (And these are practice tutus... Rehearsal at the Paris Opera Ballet, Conte on Paper, 9x12"

Deb Walmer: I took a solo hiking trip last year. I found solace in the woods alone. I had no internet, tv, or phone signal. I painted and hiked. I fell back in love with myself... A Cabin in the Woods is Where I Found Me, Oil on Canvas, 24x30"

Martina Sestakova: Words in a Mary Oliver poem inspired the title of this watercolor. This painting focuses on the now, on wherever you may be in this moment. On the inside of you and in the outside world. I often breathe in and out and let myself feel my body scanning for messages it may have for me. Indeed, what's my 'here" often comes out of a moment of quiet... Here You May Find Me, Watercolor on Yupo, 8" x 10"

Jenny Wilson: One version of the view from our river cabin... Acrylic on Canvas, 30x48"

Alan Rich: This is an inktober submission... Dune, Pen, Ink, and Colored Pencil, 5.5x3.5"

Heather Pattee Medrano: A pelican hitches a ride on a wave to take a break from fishing for his meal... Pelican Drift, Mixed Media on Wood, 15x12"

Angela White: Inspired by a visit to Bolinas Bay, California... Contentment, Oil on Canvas, 10x20"

Dora Patin: Enjoy the little things in life and stop to smell the flowers... Train Station, Oil on Board, 18x27"

Vicky Surles: When the early snow paused the daffodil blooms... Tulip Leaves in the Snow, Color Pencil, 9x12" 

Ingrid Lohr Matuszewski: A peaceful place to rest... If You Choose to Go This Way Where You Will Find Yourself, Oil on Canvas, 18x24" 

Pritha Srinivasan: This painting honors taking a moment to reflect, pause, and breathe... In the Moment, Watercolor, 16x12"

Marti Wells: Kormos' Siesta, Watercolor, 5x7"

Elissa Leibowitz Poma: At a bustling market in Bangkok, two young monks pause to take everything in... Two Monks at the Market, Watercolor and Ink on Paper, 5x7" 

Alexandra Treadaway: I collected butterflies from childhood to young adult, contributing to my Father's collection of museum quality of 750,000 - kept in the big room, of course! I enjoy painting them... Swallowtail's Pleasure, Watercolor, 22x11" 

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the artworks of our members! Be sure to check out our other blogs as we celebrate the unique artworks of local Montgomery County artists. 

Lives in: Potomac, Maryland

Website: artgallerybyz.com

Social Media: Instagram @artgallerybyz

Media: Mixed

Why you joined MAA: I was interested in further developing my art practice and making new connections with other artists in Montgomery County. I am a relatively new member and have only recently started participating in some of the MAA offerings. I was super pleased to have my work critiqued by a curator following one of the member shows. It was a great way to learn. I would love to see MAA continue to offer that opportunity. 

Something fun about you: I’m a published author with of a “how to” book for women who are looking for unique ideas for girls nights out and weekend getaways.  It’s called “The Misadventures of the Hip and Fabulous.”  The book has had a some great reviews. One reviewer shared ”this book is a great motivator to schedule some fun times with friends. Not only are the stories great to read, but a true reminder that life should be about fun interactions. I love the details around each story and how to make it actionable for doing the same. Great read, fun stories, and shows how we can lift up each other in times where everyone wants to talk about the negative.”

Artist Biography: I am an intuitive abstract painter. Largely self-taught, I use acrylic paint, charcoal, pastels, and oil sticks to put on canvas what I feel through music. I bring to my art studio my life experience and emotions and select music.  Music is as much as a medium as the paints and brushes I used to create. The music informs my color palette.  Influences that you may see threaded through my work include abstract painters like Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollack, and Hiroshi Matsumoto. Equally important to the creative process is the music used for inspiration.  I appreciate a wide range of music to include Billie Holiday, Otis Redding, Andrea Bocelli, Chrissy Hynde, Beck, Iggy Pop, David Byrne, Cake, Beastie Boys, The Rolling Stones, Mac Miller, Lord Huron, Courtney Barnett, Middle Kids, The National, Avett Brothers, Julia Jacklin, Bahamas and Vance Joy to name just a few. 

Over the last two years, I have exhibited nationally at nationally juried shows, group shows and had my first solo show in August of 2019.  More recently, I have representation at the Sonia Monti Gallery in Paris, France.  Here are a few places that I have shown my work:

• SK Artspace, Brooklyn, NY - August 2018
• Fridge DC, Washington DC  - September 2018
• Artcho , Charlottesville, VA, - October 2018
• Yellow Barn Gallery, Glen Echo, MD - January, 2019
• Hill Center Gallery, Washington DC  - February, 2019
• Delaplaine Art Gallery, Frederick, MD. - May 2019
• MD Hall for Creative Arts, Annapolis, MD (solo) - Aug 2019
• Potomac French Market, Potomac, MD -  September 2019
• Delaplaine Art Gallery, Frederick, MD - May 2020
• Cerulean Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Pa - July, 2020
• Art Museum of SW Texas, Corpus Christi TX - July 2020
• Athenaeum Gallery, Alexandria, VA October 2020
• Sonia Monti Gallery, Paris, France October 2020

I look forward to meeting and connecting with other artists in Montgomery County.  If I can be helpful in anyway, please drop me a line atchristine@artgallerybyz.com. Happy also to connect on Instagram at @artgallerybyz.

Figure 1 - Time is a Gift 60x60"

 

Figure 2- I need your bedroom eyes 30x30"

 

Figure 3-Keep bringing out the best in me 36x48"

By Martina Sestakova

Members of Montgomery Art Association come from all walks of life and their artworks and creative processes reflect this wonderful variety. In this blog, we invite you to enjoy a selection of pieces that feature the color PINK. A color with a fascinating history can indeed be interpreted and incorporated in many different ways. Enjoy this lovely variety of ideas! 

Freddi Weiner, Pink Sunset on the Meadow, Acrylic, 11x14”

Freddi says, “This piece brings me to my happy place. I am constantly trying to bring happiness and cheer during this pandemic. Sunsets and fields of flowers with blue skies and fluffy clouds.”

Here is Martina’s story behind this piece, "I recall laughing under the blankets when I was a little girl. My brother would be in his bed, under his blanket, and we would talk nonsense and laugh so hard. Such delightful moments. I try to keep this sense of lightness in my life as an adult. It’s just so nice to tuck in and talk in the darkness of the night and feel open and hopeful and loved."

Pritha Srinivasan, Unforgettable, Watercolor, 14x14”

Pritha shares, “This is my tribute to peonies, one of my favorite late spring, early summer flowers!”

Hiral Joshi, Reflection, Acrolic on Canvas, 30x24”

Rosemary Behizadeh Yue, Sunset, Acrylic on Canvas, 11x14"

Helen Wood, Zoe Bee, Pastel, 5x7"

Helen mentions, "This piece is inspired by a photo taken by granddaughter Zoe (age 15); our first artistic collaboration.”

Deb Walmer, Stargazer, Oil on Canvas, 24x18”

Paige Friedman, Cherry Blossoms, Digital, Sizes Vary

Paige tells us, “This work was all about playing with line, color, layers & shape.”

John Mac Arthur, Cherry Blossoms on the Mall #2, Acrylic, 18x24”

John highlights, “The Mall in the Spring is more than tourists wandering around; the Mall is a feeling of rebirth best portrayed as the cherry blossoms.”

Dora Patin, Competing Forces, Oil on Canvas, 8x10"

Dora conveys, "I really liked the high saturation of colors in this scene. The bright background pops forward and takes some attention away from the iris that’s in focus.”

Tuna Turner, Evening View: Bangladesh, Colored Pencil, 9x12"

Jean Fin, A Rose for Mom, Oil on Board, 8x10”

Jean shares, “Roses always remind me of my mother. Deep and complex. Beautiful and delicate.”

Elizabeth Amanda Elgin, Lloyd’s Ducks, Oil, 9x12”

Elizabeth tell us, “This is a commission for Lloyd's wife after Lloyd died last year. This is from their boat dock behind their house.”

Jeanne Sullivan, Majestic Seas, Mixed Media Collage, 8x10”

Jeanne describes her work as, “Mighty ships seeking the unknown in the majestic seas."

Patrick Sieg, Peach Amaretto, Oil on Canvas, 12x16"

Patrick tells us, "This work is based on a photo by the talented Lisa Sieg.”

Alan Rich, Red Pot, Acrylic on Canvas, 12x12"

Kathy Farrell Tynan, Birthday Wishes, Soft Pastel on Sanded Paper, 15x12"

Vicky Surles, Pink and White Azaleas, Watercolor, 11x14”

Vicky captured these Spring time beauties at McCrillis Gardens in Bethesda.

Marti Wells, Valentine for My Better Half, Watercolor, 5x7”

Elizabeth Levine Steel, Cambirds, Acrylic on Canvas, 16x20”

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the artworks of our members! Be sure to check out our other blogs as we celebrate the unique artworks of local Montgomery County artists. 

By Martina Sestakova

All Montgomery Art Association members in good standing are invited to join the MAA Members group on Facebook. This is a private group and is one of the benefits of our organization's membership. Read on and see how this group may be of enjoyment to you. 

Martina Sestakova spearheads monthly art projects. For instance, you are invited to create a new piece (or submit an existing one) that features a certain topic. We have - as a group - painted flowers, landscapes, portraits ... We have also shared our artworks on a certain topic, for instance, squares and the color pink. These monthly projects are turned into blogs for the MAA website. Join in so your artwork can be shared with our followers. 

You are also invited to share your own updates in the group. Are you teaching a class? Have you won an award? Are you working on a new piece and would like feedback? All of these topics - and many more related to art - are welcome and encouraged. 

Furthermore, members often share Calls for Art that you may be interested in and would have otherwise missed. We encourage all media and there may be a call for art just for you. 

To sum it up, be part of the MAA Members page and enjoy warm camaraderie and opportunities to promote your own artistic endeavors. If you have any questions, reach out to Martina Sestakova at connect@radostbymartinasestakova.com. 

Our October Portraits exhibition and competition drew 43 people entries and 30 animal works. Our judge was artist Kevin King, founder of the King’s Canvas in Montgomery, Alabama.

People Portraits

1^st place: African Queen by Isabella Martire

2^nd place: Searching by Paula Zeller

3^rd place: Brett by Ally Morgan

Honorable Mentions:

• Let Me Think About it by Susan Friend
• Woman in Leather Jacket by Janet Hillel
• Mishika by Hiral Joshi
• Who Am I? by Karen Lanter
• Geraniums and Tie by Patrick Sieg
• Birthday Wishes by Kathleen Tynan

Animal Portraits

1^st place: Hungarian Folktales by Dora Patin

2^nd place: Archimedes the Owl by Kathy Moore Wilson

3^rd place: Gray by Julia Rosenbaum

Honorable Mentions:

• Seeing Eye to Eye by Lily Kak
• I Have Something to Tell You by Ally Morgan
• Lunch with a Panda by Alden Schofield
• Hold Me by Diane Shipley
• Sheltered by Patrick Sieg

See the exhibition

New Member Spotlight – Sue Fierston 

Lives in: Silver Spring, Maryland

Website:  Suefierston.com

Social Media: Instagram @suefierston

Media and subjects: Painting, printmaking (including gyotaku and hand-printed botanical clothing and bags) 

Why you joined MAA: MAA’s newsletter is full of energy and looked so inviting! I also see many opportunities to show work in a variety of media. The energy of MAA is what called to me. 

Something fun about you: I grew up on Kwajalein, a tropical island in the South Pacific. 

Artist Biography:  I teach gyotaku, the Japanese art of printing fish, at the Smithsonian in their studio arts program where I also teach modern botanical printmaking. It is exciting to choose the fish I will print as a demo for the class, and I’m always looking for a large fish with big scales (think carp or rockfish). 

I paint in both acrylic and watercolor, and I’m a regular urban sketcher, always carrying my sketchbook. I’d love to start an urban sketchers group here in the DC suburbs. I’ve exhibited here in our area at the NIH and Lombardi Cancer Center as well as out in Yosemite National Park, where, if we get past the pandemic, I will be an artist in residence in 2021. 

My first book, Into the Woods: Families Making Art in Nature was published in May. It collects many activities I’ve done as a teaching artist and encourages people to find solace and fun in the natural world. 

By Martina Sestakova

Members of Montgomery Art Association come from all walks of life and their artworks and creative processes reflect this wonderful variety. In this blog, we invite you to enjoy a selection of pieces that feature SQUARES. A simple geometric shape that can be interpreted and incorporated in many different ways. Sometimes you will see the square easily; other times you will need to pause and look for it. Some of our members enjoy working in a square format too. Enjoy! 

Alan Rich, Acrylic on Canvas, 11x14"

Paige Friedeman, Acrylic on Hand Stretched Canvas, 36x36"

Dora Patin, Fortitude, Oil on Panel, 10x10" 

Ellen Yahuda, Neon Ink, 20x16"

Anastasia Walsh says of the image below, "I have a very fun piece I keep adding to: Junque Drawer. It is a wall-mounted piece that contains all kinds of things that I am cleaning out of my various junk drawers as I try to simplify. It is now hanging in my kitchen, a very favorite piece now." 

Martina Sestakova, There Is Always a Rainbow, Watercolor on Yupo, 4x6”

Marti Wells, Collage, 22x15"

Jenny Wilson, Above the Treeline, Panels with Collaged Paper and Acrylic, 10x10.

Of this work, Jenny says, "This triptych reflects my love of the feeling of being above the treeline on a mountain hike, my love of stones and scrubby trees!"

Jennifer Gwynne Lubell, We Isolate (Series), Mixed Media, 11x9"

Tena Turner, Colored Pencil, 9x12"

Deb Walmer, Nice Night for a Run, Oil on Canvas, 36x36"

Angela White, East Meets West #13, Encaustic on Wood Cradle, 6x6"

Elizabeth Levine Steel, A View from the El: Bronx 1959, Mixed Media on Canvas, 16x20".

Of this piece, Elizabeth says, "When I was growing up, it was magical to ride the elevated trains and gaze at the windows as we passed by."

Judith Levine, Shtetl Dancer, Watercolor, 9x12".

Of this work, Judith says, "I love painting dancers and this also happens to coincide with the fact that I am an ethnic Jew whose grandparents lived in the shtetls (Jewish villages) of Eastern Europe." 

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying the artworks of our members! Be sure to check out our other blogs as we celebrate the unique artworks of local Montgomery County artists.