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.