At WAR with COLOR

At WAR with COLOR
Journal page by Cheryl Harris White

I'm not really any more, but there was a time in my painting when I felt at war with color. . . in the very beginning.  I had a love / hate relationship with it.  Since then I've learned so much about color and how to mix it and make it work for me.  I make it do what I want it to do now, but it wasn't always that way.  I can say I LOVE color now and it loves me back. The black and white side was done with sketching pencils and the color side is a collage of photos, paper, stickers and magazine scraps.  

SIN

SIN
Journal Page in Oil Pastel
inspired by the many mistakes I've made in my life
by Cheryl Harris White

I almost didn't post this one because it is so ugly.  But when I think about sin, that's really what it is.... ugly.  The letters are dark grey, sick with hints of green and yellow.  The words inside the letters say... "Sin always costs you more than you can afford to pay...Keeps you longer than you want to stay... and always hurts deeper than they say. " The red at the top of the letters represents that our sins were paid for with the sacrifice of blood... Christ's blood shed to forgive us, through his death on the cross. 


The trouble with sin really, is naming and measuring it.  People have so many different perspectives on what sin is and what it isn't.  My view is, that sin is anything that separates me farther from God.   I believe that we all need to worry less about which of our sins was worse or better, or what degree of sin we've been involved in.  Some people even like pointing out how horrible the sins of others are in an effort to make themselves feel better about their own small ones.  What a mess.  Sin is sin. It's very dangerous, painful and expensive, and we are all guilty of it.


I've found it's much better to quit obsessing over all that.  Instead I prefer to simply focus more on activities and routines that draw me closer to God.  After all, He's the One who paid for all our sin in the first place, and He is really the only One who knows or needs to know what each one cost.  Shifting my focus onto who God is and how I can know Him has made all the difference.  As a result, I still sin, but I'm not overwhelmed by it.  I know God loves me, I'm much happier, and I seem to do much better at staying out of trouble. 

Psalm 139 Art Journal Page

Art Journal Page

Mixed Media

by Cheryl Harris White

Inspired by Psalms 139:16-18

13 “For You formed my inward parts;

You wove me in my mother’s womb.

14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was made in secret,

And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were ordained for me,

When as yet there was not one of them.”

Art Journal and 1000 gifts 921 - 940

In March, I'll be posting some of my favorite art journal pages.  To do these, I use pretty much anything on hand...watercolor, oil pastels, collage, stickers, stencils, stamping, marker, colored pencils.  For me, a journal page is inspired by something I am learning or studying, usually from the Bible, but sometimes just a poem or even a quote or thought that is meaningful to me.  It is a creative outlet combining journaling with a visual image or reminder of what is impacting to me, what I am praying about, or struggling with.  There are lots of blogs and websites devoted strictly to art journals and I found most of them inspiring.  I think anyone can benefit from keeping some form of a journal,  I just prefer to do mine visually.  So, just for March, I'll be sharing some photos of a few of my recent art journal efforts.

Art Journal Page

Mixed Media

by Cheryl Harris White

The background is a combination of water color crayon and blue and brown paper.  I dipped my foot in red paint and stepped on the page and accidentally splattered a bit.  Then I decided I liked the red spatters and did more on purpose.  I really liked adding the road at the bottom.  It was a sticker I found in my old scrapbooking supplies.  The center is a picture of Vincent Van Gogh's Japanese Bridge in the Rain 1887.  This page encouraged me to start something big, even though at first it seemed overwhelming.

My list of 1000 Gifts continued...

Friday, March 2nd, 2011  

921) Duke back after his long trip away

922) Last lunch with my Dad before he drove back home

923) High five with an 86 year old hand and mine

924) Art journaling with my daughter

925) Shivering through the first scrimmage of the baseball season 

926) The look on my baseball son's face after playing
927) Surprise visits

928) Sharing my art with others

929) A job so close to my home

930) The smell of spring starting in my backyard

931) Helping my dad tape up his car window

932) Getting to eat chocolate without a migraine

933) The absence of constant pain

934) A sky full of red

935) Sitting outside on a bench in the middle of a beautiful day watching Titus

936) Bulbs

937) Birds singing

938) Just enough being more than enough

939) Decent report cards

940) Seeing life as a journey

Blue Vase and 1000 Gifts 901-920

Our most recent project in art class has been vases of flowers. Everyone's flowers were different, yet they were all absolutely beautiful. I had so much fun with it, that I came home and started another similar to it (below). The exercise was huge success for all, except for the poor bug who flew right into my painting and drowned himself in my thick yellow paint.  What a horrible way to go.  We all agreed it would have been a much better experience for him, if he had ended it all in one of our glasses of wine instead, but it wasn't meant to be. Maybe it was his way of telling me he just really liked my flowers.

Blue Vase of Flowers
Oil on Canvas Board
by Cheryl Harris White
9" x 12"

My list of 1000 Gifts continued...


Friday, February 24th, 2011  
901) Routine
902) Change
903) Stretching
904) Growth 
905) Milestones
906) Gladness in my heart
907) Realized hopes I didn't know I even wanted
908) Talking about flowers with a new friend
909) Four women painting vases o flowers at art class and laughing while we do it.
910) Relationships
911) Remembering my heritage
912) Helping things that grow
913) New life
914) A good neighbor showing kindness
915) Caleb selling his mugs for football
916) Pink in the sky
917) Damp shadows on the grass
918) The cool earth getting ready to bloom
919) Hearing my kids laughing
920) Shower gel

1000 Gifts 881-900 and a Cake

This month Paint On My Walls is officially one year old and to celebrate this blogging milestone, I painted picture of a birthday cake with one candle for my blog.   I just love celebrating milestones.  It gives me such a sense of accomplishment to look back at the beginning of this journey and see how far I have come emotionally, spiritually and creatively.  

There was a time in my life when I really wanted to paint but couldn't even force myself pick up a brush. I wanted to worship God, but couldn't find my voice.  I wanted to live, but felt dead.  I have a story, and part of that story includes a dark journey through depression to a life I could have never known with out God's merciful love toward me.  This is the reason I am writing a list of 1000 gifts.  This is why I paint, and why Paint On My Walls is about celebrating color, light and life.  I celebrate all these things, because there was a time when I couldn't.  So in this post, I sing with paint and say, "Happy Birthday" to Paint On My Walls!

Birthday Cake With One Candle
by Cheryl Harris White
Oil on Canvas Board
9" x 11"

Since I am working with oils and a palate knife this month, that is what I used.  I loved mixing these primary colors until they were just right.  There is actually a little bit of red, blue and yellow in every color you see here, even the white icing on the cake.  I spread the white paint mixture very thick.  It actually felt like I was icing a real cake.  The only difference was, I couldn't like my knife.

My List of 1000 Gifts Continues...

881) Depression
882) Darkness
883) Pain
884) Sadness
885) Tears
886) Sorrow
887) Crushed dreams
888) Rebellion
889) Loss
890) Wishing
891) Hope
892) Acceptance
893) Understanding
894) Humility
895) Naming gifts I am thankful for
896) Contentment
897) Trust
898) Joy
899) Believing
900) Color, Light and Life

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 

A Painting With Boats

My favorite night of the week is the night I go to art class .  I am studying with Dominique Galleron Johnson an excellent artist with a studio in Grapevine.  This was our first painting and I got to bring it home last night.  It feels windy to me, but yet also calm and restful. 

A Painting with Boats
by Cheryl Harris White
Oil with Palate Knife
on Canvas Board
18" x 24"

Apples To Apples

Palate knife and oil paint apples.  At my first oil painting class our teacher had us paint an apple using only a palate knife. I loved mixing the colors for this project.  Here is one of my first attempts...

Hello I'm An Apple
by Cheryl Harris White
Oil on Canvas
4" x 6"

The painting above says to me, "Hello, I'm an apple... a solid roundish shape sitting here just waiting for something."  and it is fine if you like that sort of thing.   I can definitely tell it is an apple, but the painting doesn't make me believe it is really full of juicy sweet goodness... and so I just had to try again... 

Joy! Bliss! Tart and Crisp!
by Cheryl Harris White
Oil on Canvas Board
6" x 6"

I just couldn't be done until my apple shouted, "Joy! Bliss! I am cool, tart and crisp and just looking at me is like wiping the juice off your chin after a crunching off a bite of my delicious nourishing sweetness!"  Ahhh, it glows!   If I had to eat an apple, I'd choose this one...wouldn't you?

Pear

This was done with oil paint and a palate knife, no brushes.  It was a lot of fun to mix these colors and the paint just spread on like butter on toast.  I really like this medium so much more than using acrylics. Can't wait to try more.

Pear
by Cheryl Harris White
Oil on Canvas
4" x 6"

1000 Gifts, 841-860

841) My birthday dinner in Rockwall
842) Losing and Finding Titus because it showed us how special he is
843) Family quality time
844) Assertiveness
845) Things that inspire me as an artist
846) First attempts
847) A day of rest
848) A pantry of food
849) Wine and cheese at art class
850) Having to carpool with my teenage daughter,  
851) Great people to work with
852) Seeing Caleb work so hard for baseball

853) Fresh air
854) Paws racing on the wood floor
855) Beginning oil painting
856) The science of color

857) Yellow
858) Blue
859) and Red
860) Finishing my value study


Extra thought... I did this value study with my new oil paints using no black.  I hate thought of buying black paint.  The painting above was really done with just red, yellow, blue and white paint.  It looks kind of boring, I know, but I had so much fun doing it.  It is a gift because doing it, led me to think a lot about color.  Isn't it interesting that this can be made from yellow, blue, red and white, but nothing colorful can be made from black?

Oil Paint!

I can't believe February is already here. This month I will be posting some of my beginning attempts at oil painting.  I am taking classes at A Touch of Paris Art Gallery in Grapevine and absolutely having a blast.  Stay tuned.

Courtney's Tree Collage Video

A Tree For Courtney
Acrylic Collage
3' x 4'
by Cheryl Harris White

My daughter wanted a large collage of a tree and one of her favorite poems by Robert Frost to decorate her bedroom.  She wanted it to be whimsical.  This video shows the steps as we progressed through the project.  I painted the background and the basic sketch of the tree and she chose words from magazines that she liked.  The words she chose were... 

"Learn,A fresh start, Brilliant, Friends, New, Sport, Bloom, Green, Original, Unleash, Fairy tale, Sweet, Fresh, Dream, Love, Fun, Together, Life, Imagine, Your moment, Hearts on Fire, Adored, Rhapsody, Real," and of course, the poem itself.  The tree is a collage of both scraps from magazine and dried acrylic paint.  This was the result. Enjoy!

1000 Gifts, 821 - 840

821) Flowers for my birthday from Dad

822) Birthday wishes

823) A cake at work

824) Birthday hugs

825) A grove of huge trees with twisty branches

826) Daffodil sprouts

827) Duke home safe from travel

828) Family dinner

829) People who care when you are hurting

830) Strength

831) Laughing during oil painting class

832) My art teacher's beautiful French accent

833) Color mixing

834) Caleb home sick two days

835) The golden sun at 7:35AM setting the dew aglow

836) Rain

837) Kind words 

838) Listening to my kids tell me what they remember about their childhood

839) A pink envelope in the mail box 

840) Encouragement putting the wind back in my sails

All Together Now! Four Trees Series

Autumn, Spring, Summer, Winter (left to right) 
Four Trees Series
Four canvases 12" x  24"
Acrylic Collage on Canvas
by Cheryl Harris White
Not For Sale

Autumn Tree - Painting 4 of Four

Autumn Tree
Acrylic Collage on Canvas
12" x 24"
by Cheryl Harris White


The words inspiring this tree are worthy, love, beautiful, color, believe.  Strong sturdy long lasting autumn words. I love the different colors of leaves I found for this one and all the red I found for the trunk. This one is my favorite one out of all four.  Which one is your favorite?

1000 Gifts - 801 to 820

801) Guessing riddles
802) A day spent at home just with my son
803) Kiwis
804) A cleaned off desk
805) Listening to some of the wisest women I have ever met discussing the subject of prayer
806) My mom once prayed to become pregnant for 20 years and I was the answer that God gave her.  She was over 40 when she bore her first child. I was her gift.
807) My daughter once prayed for 20 seconds that her brother would win his soccer game and her prayer was answered in 20 minutes.  It was the only game his team won all season, and my son made the goal. Seeing her mustard seed size faith grow, was my gift.
808) My mom learned patience and long suffering
809) My daughter learned that God really is there and that He listens to every care upon our hearts, no matter how small.
810) Knowing that there is nothing too small or too big for God to care about.
811) My husband's servant heart
812) My oil painting lessons.
813) Playing with our cute puppy on my lunch break
814) Medicine making my ear aches go away
815) A beautiful January day
816) I like actually seeing the whole shape of the trees this time of year.
817) Sharing my thoughts and art with you
818) Birthdays
819) How happy my dog is to see us
820) A voice mail from my sister

Summer Tree - Painting 3 of 4

Summer Tree
Acrylic Collage on Canvas
12" x 24"
by Cheryl Harris White

For Summer Tree, the colors on the tree are much warmer at the top and cooler at the bottom.  The words of summer are... Magic, Experience, Home, Gift, Abundance, Design and True.  The dark purples and blues at the roots  invoke the feeling of laying in the shade of the tree on cool damp grass .   As your eye follows the branches upward toward the top, the crimson, red and hot pink leaves set the tree afire, glowing in a blaze of summer heat.

1000 Gifts 781-800

781) Saturday Evening Worship Service 
782) Learning new song
783) Working on a collage with my daughter
784) A rainy Monday after a great weekend 
785) A chat with a close friend I rarely get to see 
786) Family dinner
787) Hot tacos in crunch shells
788) Hearing Courtney sing
789) Caleb's love for Titus
790) Inspiration for Summer Tree
791) Encouragement about my art
792) Finishing painting 3 of 4 
793) Endings and Beginnings
794) Car chats
795) A home
796) A car
797) A job
798) A beautiful January day
799) Being home for lunch
800) A new painting for the blog tomorrow!

Spring Tree...Number 2 out of 4

Spring Tree
Acrylic Collage
12" x 24"
by Cheryl Harris White

This is the second in a series of four pieces illustrating the seasons.  All four will be trees with the words that inspired my creativity worked into the roots and trunk.... Paint, Garden, Replenish, Everlasting, Journal, Understanding, Imagination, Artistry, Transformational, Creating, Tree, A symphony you can see... these are the words and phrases that really spoke to me about spring.  

The next one will be Summer... and I can't wait to share it with you.  

1000 Gifts 761-780

761) The changing seasons
762) Things that grow
763) The bright white blooming paper white narcissus blooming in my kitchen
764) Pink winter roses on the rose bushes by my door
765) Rythems of nature
766) Bulbs sleeping in the earth 
767) Getting ready for school to begin again
768) New dishes
769) Finding one last christmas gift that had been forgotten under the tree
770) Playing games and laughing with friends on new years eve 
771) Everybody home sick, but at least we are together
772) Rest
773) Hot bean soup
774) Last visit with Dad before he flew home to Minnesota
775) My kids playing with their cousins
776) My son holding his puppy 
777) My daughter making her own brave decisions
778) Words cut out of magazines
779) Inspiration for Spring Tree
780) My second painting of four almost ready

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....