Girl In Red Dress on La Rambla

I went to Spain once.  I loved the culture, the people and the paella! I came back with a paella pan, which is awesome by the way, and a lot of photos. My husband and I soaked in a lot of culture, art, architecture and history while we were  there, but my favorite days were when we walked down La Rambla.  The leaves on the trees danced with the pale blue sky and their shadows on the patterned walk way below and washed everything in shady, sparkling, dappled light.  My favorite spot for people watching and my inspiration for the oil painting posted here; Girl In Red Dress on La Rambla

Girl In Red Dress on La Rambla by Cheryl Harris White

Oil on canvas

24" X 36"
$300.00

Art At The Speed of Life Lesson 15

Arcimboldo-Style Self-Portrait

I LOVED this exercise. I included images from art and history to compose my self portrait.  I call it my Art Queen Arcimboldo-Style Self-Portrait.  I found a flower scrap that said "She most heartily enjoyed pursuing life" and thought it appropriate.  Then I thought about the times in the past when I most thoroughly enjoyed life, and it always involved some application of creativity.  Next I created an explosion of art and art supplies bursting forth from my head like ideas just popping out all over the page.  I used magazine scraps of a quilt for the hair and some of the other accents.  My favorite thing about this page is my crown. A crown for an Art Queen.

Art Queen Arcimboldo-Style
Self-Portrait
by Cheryl Harris White
Art Journal Page
Mixed Media

Shining Green Birch Trees

Shining Green Birch
Oil on Canvas
by Cheryl Harris White
12 x 12

This was a fun little oil painting to do inspired by a few lines of poetry I came across.  I used a lot of light shades of greens and yellows which makes the forest seem to shimmer.  Happy to be playing in my oil paint again!

The trees are God's great alphabet;
With them He writes in shining green
Across the world His thoughts serene.
- Leonora Speyer

Best of 2011

Fire Poppies

Mountain Poppies

Poppies for Millie

In the Poppy Paint Series....   The winner is..... Poppies For Millie!  Owned by Millie Welsh

Rose of Sharron

Something To Celebrate

Hope

Love

Peace

Three Crosses, A Story Told in  Art 

In the Cross Series....   The winner is..... Three Crosses, A Story Told in  Art  

Three Trees At Night

Fire Tree

Color Tree

Nine Birch

Six Birch

Trees On Blue and Red

Rain Path Birch

Eight Birch

June Forest

Confetti Forest

Aspens For The Olsons

In the Tree Series....   The winner is..... Aspens For
The Olsons

The Art of Gratitude

Eucharisteo

Last Supper

In the Bible Series....   The winner is..... The Art of Gratitude

owned by Ann Horner

Thank you all for participating in this journey with me in 2011. I am inspired and motivated by all of your comments and encouragement and look forward to more to come in 2012.  Up first in the new year will be more from my Four Seasons Paintings... The next one will be Spring.  Coming soon....

Re-Post of A Worthy Christmas Painting

Beautiful Star
Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 48"
by Cheryl Harris White

This is a re-post of one of my favorite Christmas paintings I have done so far.  It is currently on display at CAM Center Dallas.  I just wanted to repost it here today to wish a Merry Christmas to my blogger family. May you be filled with the wonder of Our Savior's birth this season.

Celebrating Love

Water To Wine 
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"
Sold 

 Happy Valentines Day!  This is a good day to post my first Water To Wine painting from about 3 or 4 years ago . Water To Wine is a theme I revisited often over the last years.   This was a really fun painting to do and it belongs to the Rauhausers.


I was inspired by the story of  the miracle Jesus performed at the wedding in Cana.  I love the idea of showing the blue water pouring out and turning purple and red as it is flowing down. Layers wine of it curve and flow over the wedding guests and bride and groom as if their cares and worries were being washed away.  This was a celebration after all, and everyone looks happy.


People sometimes skim over this miracle as if it isn't as important as some of the other ones, where blind people receive sight, or the lame are able to walk again.  There was no life or death situation here.  But, in that culture, running out of wine before the end of the wedding celebration would have been a grave humiliation for the host.  I actually like this miracle best, because it shows us that Jesus cared about what we care about.  What a perfect example of love.

I begin with paint on my walls.

I have paint on my walls. Everyone has paint on their walls, I suppose.  My home has walls painted several different colors and our front room is washed in a nice pale sunny yellow, but that's not the kind of paint I'm talking about here.  The yellow room is my studio where I set up an easel and just paint, large canvases with acrylic paint mostly.  The walls are full of paintings I've finished and partially finished and paintings done by other artists as well.  And, in the corner near my easel, there are splatters of color that did not make their way onto a canvas.  Green, blue and red little spots that eventually should  be covered up with the fresh sunny yellow to match the rest of the walls, someday. But for now, there is still paint on my wall. I've decided to leave it there because I like it. I see it and it says to me, "go ahead and paint some more...you already have paint on your wall. "  If I cleaned it up, it would seem like I'm not free to make a mess.  Not a good feeling for an artist. But, putting paint on a wall is a very good feeling.  My goal with this blog is to share that with you. Enjoy the paint on my walls.

For His Glory

For His Glory
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 17" x  22"
First Place, Denton State Fair 2006
Division C, Acrylic Media

For His Glory inspired by the architecture of Antonio Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain.  


After gorging myself with a feast for the eyes on Gaudi's unique, creative and bold use of color, pattern and style, my heart was drawn to our glorious creator, God in heaven, Lord of heaven and earth.  To me, this painting is a gentle reminder that nothing we create in our finite human abilities can truly purely glorify God.. but, if that is not at least our goal, then all is in vain.  It is not what we do or do not do that fails to glorify God... It is who we are.  


As an artist I can try my best to glorify Him, with futile results . . .  As His child, I have hope of ultimate success.