Two Sisters

Two Sisters
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"

This painting is based off the same pattern as Mary Did You Know that I had painted over  from the February 11th post but for this one I used fast long brush strokes and bold colors.  The older sister's (my) hair is also like a hand placed on her younger sister's (Char's) face.  This was inspired by my relationship with my younger sister Charlotte.  While painting this, I thought about all we had both been through together and this quote by Benjamin Disraeli.


Sweet is the voice of a sister in the season of sorrow. 
- Benjamin Disraeli

The PIT

No painting post today in remembrance of the PIT. 

When our family lost my mom to cancer, my sister and I were in our early 20's. Then my Dad met Peggy, a precious, sweet  woman, also widowed. They fell in love and they had a wonderful marriage for 15 more years.  She was like a second mom to me and a grandma to my kids.


When  Peggy passed away, I had just returned from a week of ministering to missionaries Mexico with Duke and it was more than I could handle.  I had now lost two mothers in my lifetime.  My dad had lost two wives.  I went up for the funeral to be a support to my Dad.  


I had to hurry home because all this was happening right between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I had a show to paint sets for the theater.  Our church had a new pastor and I wanted to attend the new art ministry meeting he set up.  There was a recital coming up that Courtney was singing in. . .Gingerbread houses to make . . .  I was going so fast and giving and giving and giving in every direction.  That is when I fell into a pit.


I remember the actual day my life seemed to hit rock bottom.. I was sitting in church and they were singing the song "Mary did you know".  It was so beautiful, but I could not even sing along.  I felt sad and I started to cry. I couldn't stop crying and didn't stop crying for days and days in a row.  I wasn't really even sobbing, it was like my eyes were leaking and the tears would not stop. It was so scary, because I didn't know why I was crying.  I felt sad, but I wasn't sad about a particular one thing... it was a very quiet, ever present deep sadness.


I went up to the theater to paint for the upcoming Christmas production and it was so hard.  It took energy to even lift a brush and I couldn't decide on the colors, which was very unlike me.  I started crying again and had to go home to rest.  Everything felt broken and difficult and totally overwhelming to me.  I didn't feel angry or mad or want to yell or anything.  I just didn't feel anything at all except sad and I couldn't make my tears stop.  I could be folding laundry or putting away dishes and silent tears kept coming.  I would lay down to sleep and wake up with a wet pillow.  I did not understand how I could even be crying while I was sleeping.  After 2 1/2 days of this,  I got in to see my doctor.

I had experienced a sudden onset of depression which I learned later had been gradually building for a long time.  I received some excellent Biblical counseling through this time and my doctor prescribed an anti depressant  which really helped.  God was faithful to me and my family.   It was slow and hard and a lot of work, but I'm so thankful I went through it because of what I learned through that time.   I learned that suffering is part of our journey here on this earth and through it we become stronger.  I learned about giving and receiving and limits and forgiveness.  I learned a lot about depression and how to deal with pain.  I learned who my true friends were and who God created me to be and how to extend acceptance and receive love. 


I  love this quote by Corrie Ten Boom which has always inspired me.  

She once said, " There is no pit, that God is not deeper still."

I also clung to Romans 5:3-5

³More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.


I've been to the bottom of the pit and now I am out, up on the other side.  

For A Sister AND A Friend

Press On

by Cheryl Harris White

Acrylic on Canvas

24" x 36"

SOLD

This painting was done for my sister whom I now consider to be one of my closest friends.  It wasn't always that way though.  I painted this several years ago during a very difficult time in our relationship. I think all sisters probably go through this at one time or another...and even though I knew that what we were facing was normal and to be expected, I felt a deep sadness about it.  A sister is both a sister AND a friend, so when there was distance growing between us,  it  felt like I was losing two people instead of just one.  I remember struggling so much, and feeling extremely drained and annoyed and frustrated about the frequent problems between us.  No amount of forbearance or  understanding or patience seemed to be enough.  I was so tired of spending energy and getting no where.  I wanted to just quit even trying to work on our relationship. 

About that same time when her birthday was coming up, her husband asked me to paint a painting for her based on her favorite verse...

Philippians 3:14   

¹⁴ I press on toward the goal to win the prize 

for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

It was the perfect assignment for me.  I thought about what I was painting and who I was painting it for.  I remembered so many times when most people would quit, she never did...so who was I to want to quit on her?  Any relationship takes hard work, and one with a sister is certainly worth fighting for.  She has an amazing tenacious spirit and is one of the most driven, committed,  focused people I know.  So, Char, this post today is for you.  I know life is hard right now, but I'm here to encourage you to keep pressing on.  You were born to be my sister, but I chose you as my friend and I love you!

A Boat Without A Painting...

 Or at least it would have been if I hadn't painted behind it.  This was the first scenery I painted for the Actors Conservatory Theater back in 2006.  That is Ratty and; Mole "out rowing"! 

Last night at a wedding reception, someone asked me how I started painting.  After I answered her, I thought the story would make a good entry for my blog... so here it is.  

It all began about 5 years ago... One day, Courtney and I just happened to witness a rehearsal going on for a production of Oklahoma.  Courtney just HAD to stay and watch and watch and watch.  The actors were in full costume so it must have been a dress rehearsal and nobody seemed to care that we were there.  She LOVED it!  She looked up at me with her little freckled 9 year old face and said,  "Mom, can I be in a play sometime?"  

I found a children's theater in our area and it all began.  Her first role was Dori the dwarf in The Hobbit.  They needed parents to help out with props, so I painted a door for the set.  The director liked it. A few shows later, the theater needed a set artist.  I looked at the huge wall on the back of the stage and just felt like covering it with paint.  I had NEVER done anything so huge before, but I wanted to try. 

 This was the result and I started to paint for each show after that.  Wind in the Willows pictured here is the first production I did, but many more are on my theater scenery page.

Courtney has continued her theatrical endeavors and I've had paint on my walls ever since.

A Painting Without A Boat

This was another study just for practice.  It seemed like such a happy painting, I had to try it.  It should have a boat on the beach, but mine doesn't.  I got this far, and my daughter really liked it and wanted it for her room.  I've tried to get it back, so I can have a go at the boat, but so far, it still looks like this.  If I ever get around to finishing it, I'll post it for you to see.  

Color Study Without A Boat
by Cheryl White

A Tree to Hug

This is what a real Rowan tree looks like.  They grow mostly in Europe.  The hard pale wood 

was used during the middle ages for making bows, walking staffs and tool handles.   It was also sometimes used to craft serving bowls and dishes.  Quite practical . . .but humble uses for such a wisend wonderful old tree in my opinion.  So, below is my attempt to give the Rowan tree the honor it is due.

Rowan Trees

By Cheryl White

Acrylic on Canvas

30” x 40"

I  love this painting.  It makes me want to take off my shoes and feel the cool grass between my toes... and after that, I would lay down for a nap under the big tree in the middle.  To me, this painting contrasts youth and old age.  The grass looks supple and soft, blowing in the breeze...  it makes me want to run and  play in it.  In contrast, the gnarled bent tree trunks are stiffened and hard, but strong after years of supporting the heavy berry laden branches.  If I ever had the chance to meet this tree, I would give it a good strong hug.


   

After Monet

In honor of the three daffodils that bloomed at my house today... I'm posting this painting.  It was my first attempt at a study of Monet's Spring.  I splashed this out about 5 years ago and I had so much fun with it.  

I love how the tree is bending over the girls like a shelter and everything fresh and new. The whole world seems so be bursting forth with new life, the trees…the grass and even the water is exploding with spring color.  And right there in the middle of all the excitement, two girls sit sharing a quite moment.  


I LOVE quiet moments... and there's nothing better than having a friend to share one with.

After Monet
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"
Not Available

My Matisse Friend

After Matisse
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"
Not Available

A friend of mine really loves Matisse...Our appreciation  of  art is just one of many things she and I have in common... but in my heart, I call her my "Matisse" friend because we went to see the Matisse exhibit  together at the Dallas Museum of Art when it came in town. 


This is a study I did of one of his paintings.  The particular painting by Matisse is called, "Odalisque with Yellow Persian Robe and Anemones" and is exhibited at the Philadelphia Museum of Art . 


My version of it (left) is called "After Matisse " and is "exhibited" at my "Matisse friend's " house.  I gave it to her as a gift and every time I look at this picture of it, I am reminded of a moment when God's grace and forgiveness triumphed in our relationship. 


Many months after our museum day,  in a moment of weakness, she betrayed me.  It's not important what she did really . . . just that my trust had been broken and what happened between us hurt me very deeply in a very public way.  She was sincerely repentant when she realized what she had done, and wrote me the most beautiful letter of apology.  But at this point, the damage was done, and there was nothing either of us could do about it. I, however, had a choice...  I could forgive or not forgive, it was up to me.  I had been wronged publicly and I alone had the job of deciding whether or not to extend forgiveness. 


Forgiving wouldn't make what she did less wrong.  Not forgiving would not have made me more right. So why bother? Why not just write her off as a lost friend and move on?  I was entitled to be bitter and angry after all that had happened right? But,  I did choose to forgive. It was so humbling and hard, but when I did so, we shared a wonderful moment of reconciliation.  We hugged each other and we were both crying happy tears... We were friends again.  I know that it was not me who forgave her, it was God through me.  He alone enabled me to forgive graciously and freely without condition or requirement.  This is what GRACE is.  It is the same kind of forgiveness God extends to us.  


I didn't forgive because my friend was really sorry or sincere.  I didn't forgive because she is an excellent writer and her letter was so beautiful.  I didn't forgive because she liked my painting or we had things in common or even because she deserved it. None of those reasons mattered.  The reason I forgave, is because Christ chose to die on the cross to pay for my sins and HE forgave ME of so much more.  Because I had accepted His unconditional love and forgiveness when I didn't deserve it, I was able to extend it to someone else when they did not deserve it.  It was such an honor and a privilege to be able to do that. So . . . when I look at this painting, I remember the joy of our reconciliation day and I am grateful for "my Matisse friend."

Everyone Has A Story...Artists Just Tell Theirs With PAINT.

"Painting is just another way of keeping a diary."
Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), modern Spanish artist.


I was asked if I only paint stories from the Bible.  The answer is no, but I paint what is interesting to me and what I feel passionate about.  This really all began when I was painting murals for children's theater, but because God has been working on me and is living in me, that is what comes out.  It's all part of my story.  


I'm getting close to the end of my "stained glass window style paintings"...This one was "The Holy Family."  I say WAS because I have to confess, I painted over this one also. 

The Holy Family
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 48"
Not Available

Coming up soon, I'll start posting some studies I've done of different artists. 

Freedom isn't FREE

Marshall Harris
Served on Sipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima

 This is my dad . . . a retired WWII verteran ... US Marine who served on Sipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima. I believe he belongs to THE greatest generation of Americans in our country's history.  My sister and I watched him live out his life in memory of his fallen brothers in arms.  They had paid for our freedom with the price of their lives.  I was raised with the foundational belief that freedom wasn't free.  There is a cost involved.  Someone has to pay for it, and it is something to be thankful for.

The same thing is true about our spiritual freedom.  We are taught from Ephesians 2:8,9  that grace is a free gift to us.  

Free TO us, but it did cost God something.  

⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast.

My response to this is thanks and awe.  It motivates me to live my life in response to that sacrifice in a way that honors God.  


One time I asked my dad, what his favorite verses in the Bible were.  He said, Matthew 5-7, the sermon on the mount . . . so I painted it for him.( Below )

Matthew 5

¹ Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them. He said:

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

And This Is LOVE

And This is Love
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"
$150.00


Isaiah 53:4-6 

 ⁴ Surely he took up our pain
   and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
   stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
   and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.

Water to Wine for Duke

Water To Wine For Duke
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 48"
Not Available

This is another Water to Wine painting.  I did this  for Duke,  my awesome husband for an anniversary gift. I celebrate him and the life we have built together. 


Duke and I met at Texas Tech University and started dating after we both went on a couple summer mission projects together with Campus Crusade for Christ.  


What I first liked about Duke, was that he was a quiet leader and his heart for prayer.  He brings a dependable, consistent stability to everything he attempts to do and consistently works at the small things to create something lasting and solid.  If Duke looks at a tough problem or situation and decides a solution will work, it almost always does. 


I am not that way at all.  I'm intuitive, sensing and creative.  He is the perfect balance to to my artistic side, and I am so thankful for him after 20 years of marriage. 


That is what this painting is about and it is something to celebrate!

Loaves and Fishes Paintings

Matthew 14:13-21 

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵ As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Provision
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 48" x 36"
Sold

I did two paintings with this theme, and both of them are sold...This one with more blues in the background to the Crawfords and another with more greens to the Dollacks.  I continued working with lines coming on and off the canvas and using a palate knife.  At the center, the larger than life figure shows Christ holding up the 5 loaves and 2 fish before feeding the thousands of people who had come to hear His teaching.  There are 12 disciples each holding up baskets of food that were still left after everyone had eaten.  This is important, because it reminds me that God's provision was bountiful, above and beyond their expectations.  

Loaves and Fishes on Green

by Cheryl White

Acrylic on Canvas 48" x 36"

Sold

I found this to be true in my own life as well when my husband was on staff with Leaders Shaping Leaders.  He was working for a non profit mission agency and 100% of his salary came from donated financial giving.  We had two small children and it was a huge leap of faith to really trust that God could and would meet our needs through those years.  I am an extremely organized, detail oriented planner, so to trust our future to God in this situation was HUGE to me.  God would have to be larger than life in order to provide for our family's needs...and guess what? He was...He is...and He did...above and beyond what we expected.

My Art Goes to Russia

Giving and Recieving
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on 2 Canvases, each 21" x 17"
for Church in Tula, Russia


This is a two part piece I did for a church in Tula, Russia.  It was a gift from our church to theirs when a group from  CBC  went there on a mission trip.  The two connected paintings symbolized our connection with them as fellow believers. Reminding us that even though we are located on two separate continents, we are unified in Christ as one body of believers and a share a bond that will last for all eternity.  This was a really fun painting to do and it encouraged me so much to know they liked it. I love that even though I didn't go on the trip, my art did, and even stayed behind...and so through doing this painting, I am a part of their journey, and they are a part of mine.

The Original Prodigal

About this same time, I attended  LEAD training, an amazing training conference at the Howard Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership at DTS. The four main goals of this week long training were to:

• Affirm God's design and work in your life
• Discover or clarify your life dream
• Identify and address core hindrances
• Develop a game plan to facilitate fulfillment of your life dream

Basically, what I got out of this week was that, God would not have put this talent in me or this insatiable desire to create and be creative, if He didn't want me to do something with it.  Yes, it was difficult at times, and frustrating when I failed, but I could and should keep working at it.  The workshop leaders there strongly encouraged me to continue to pursue painting and see where it lead.  The result was this painting.

Original Prodigal
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas 24" x 36"
Not Available

I decided to try this same palate knife technique again with the theme of the Prodigal Son.  I made the father figure in yellow and formed his arms in a circle hugging his son, bent over in repentance and humbled by his fathers's unconditional love and forgiveness. I wanted it to look kind of like a stained glass window.

I love this theme because this story is at the core of how I myself relate to God.  I am continually humbled and amazed by the unconditional forgiveness extended to me no matter how hard I fall or or deep I plunge into my own prideful indulgence.  This is my first of many attempts at this theme and it turned out better than the last one which was somewhat encouraging.  I'll show you more Prodigal Son paintings later and more that look like stained glass as well.

Also at this time, I began to search for a painting mentor here in the area and became involved with VAL (Visual Art League).  I met some very talented artists and began learning as much as I could.  I actually brought this painting to my first VAL meeting and was so encouraged by that experience.  I loved having a group of skilled and experienced artists to meet with and learn from.  More to come.

Two more paintings for the bathroom

Here are  two more paintings I demoted to guest bathroom status about 3 years ago and they are still there.  If you are new to the blog and don't know what "guest bathroom status" means, check out Feb.13,2011 and you will understand.


To the Right is "Lamb of the World". You can see Jesus with his arms stretched out. I love how they curve and go off the canvas.  There is the world, the vivid blues and greens.... and then there is this lamb that really bugs me.  Looks more like "Polar Bear of the World" to me, but anyway, it's supposed to be a


LAMB! Sorry, didn't mean to yell.  It was just so frustrating to spend so much time on something and still not have it turn out right.  I felt like quiting at this point and never painting again, or at least never painting another lamb again... but I didn't quit.


To the Left: "John the Baptist aptizing Jesus".  I actually really liked how this one turned out.  You can see light coming from Jesus and the dove was just so much fun.  It's actually worthy of a more honorable wall in our home, but since it matches the mis-fit polar bear of the world painting above,  it's in the guest bathroom also.


In my opinion this is a good example of two paintings which are unequally yoked. But I keep them together and here is why...


What I learned later, but I didn't understand then , is that creating art is more about the process, not the end result.  I hated the end result of the first painting, but had a lot of fun painting the 2nd one.  What was different?  My focus during the polar bear, I mean lamb painting was on producing something and getting it done.  It felt like work or a chore.  But on the 2nd painting I just really enjoyed the process of painting it and had fun. I thought about the event from the Bible that I was illustrating and what it meant to me while I was painting and it became an act of worshiping God.  Two paintings; same size canvas, same color palate, done by the same person, yet two totally different results.  This was a valuable lesson.