Poppies Art Journal Page

These pale poppies are so soft looking.  They are another example of a happy accident.  I put three blots of red paint on the page and closed the journal.  The result kind of reminded me of a row of poppies.  So I dropped a green drop of diluted acrylic paint at the base of each splotch and turned my journal upright.  Gravity did the rest.  All that was left was some outlining with a pen.

Poppies Art Journal Page
by Cheryl Harris White
Mixed Media

1000 Gifts 861-880

These were done with very thick oil paint being spread with a palate knife. I definitely had more fun painting Poppies with oil paint than acrylic. 

Five Poppies
by Cheryl Harris White
Oil on With Palate Knife
On Canvas Board
9 " x 12"




Continuing my list of1000 Gifts 861-880

861)  Seeing things I want to paint

862)  People under umbrellas

863)  A pink glow in the sky at the end of the day 

864)  A child's laughter

865)  Canadian geese

866)  Pink lady apples

867)  Juicy pears

868)  Catching up with old friends

869)  Crisp air 

870)  Walks

871)  Tulips

872)  Poppies

873)  Pansies

874)  A daughter who sings

875)  A son who plays baseball

876)  Recovery 

877) The stories of Madeline

878) and The Velveteen Rabbit

879) Mist shrouded trees 

880) Music in the morning 

Poppies for Millie

Poppies for Millie
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic on Canvas
24" x 18"

Here's some more lovely poppies to start of April.  I loved putting some of the blue and red from the sky and poppies into the grass.  I used a lot of thick paint for the sky and grass and the same color scheme as the Rowen Trees from earlier.

This painting is for Millie.  She's an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to serving God and inspiring others to do the same.  I met her the summer between my Junior and Senior year of college when I was on a summer mission project with Campus Crusade for Christ.   It is amazing to me to even try to fathom the seeds she has planted in the lives of young college students over the years.  She had a huge impact on me and others as well and  I  am so thankful to have had her in my life.   

Shall We Dance?

These Poppies just look to me like they are dancing and it gives me joy just to look at them.

Psalm 30:11   You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

Mountain Poppies
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic on Canvas
18" x 24"

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll be back with new paintings and thoughts to post on Monday.

Art for Art's Sake

I really love being around people who appreciate art and beauty.  There is something calm and knowing about them, as if they have found a secret others have not.  When they find out I paint, they say things like,"That is wonderful, beautiful...etc."  They are encouraging and seem to give me energy. They have connected somehow with what they see and it has made them feel something positive.  These are the kind of people I would want to spend an afternoon in an art museum with.  I believe God would be in this group as well.  I believe He cares about art and what we make through our creativity.  It matters to Him, because we matter to him and He made us and this beautiful world for us to live in.  We see His creative plan unfold in nature and read His beautiful sentiments in the poetry of the Bible. 

Poppy Study
by Cheryl Harris White
not available

'For behold, the winter is past,  

The rain is over and gone.  

 'The flowers have already appeared in the land;  

The time has arrived for pruning the vines,  

And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.  

 'The fig tree has ripened its figs,  

And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.  

Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,  

And come along!' " 

Song 2:11-13 (NASB)

These verses are just there for us to enjoy and they are beautiful.  I love that not every part of the Bible is a law or a deep theological concept.  Some of it is in there just because God wanted it in there.  How refreshing.  

I feel the same way about my art.  Some of the pictures I post will just be something I just thought would be fun to paint, not necessarily an illustration of some deep spiritual doctrine.  So, in light of that thought,  this is  a study of some poppies I've been working on... just to celebrate art for art's sake.  I just splashed this out in one day and this is really just a practice I did for the painting coming tomorrow.  Stay tuned! More to come.