Two Tall Mosaic Birch Paintings Ready for Chalk This Way

 I finished these two Oil paintings just in time for the Chalk This Way Art Festival coming up this weekend.  I used a lot of thick oil paint applied with a palate knife in a mosaic pattern.  They are very large; each one about 8 square feet and they look amazing on my red entry way wall.   Almost too amazing to part with.   Come see me in the tent at Chalk This Way in Lewisville to see these up close in person. The festival hours are from 9AM to 6PM. Location is around MCL Grand and Lewisville City Hall, at Church and Charles Streets, Lewisville, TX 75057.

Tall Mosaic Birch I                  Tall Mosaic Birch II

Oil on Canvas                           Oil on Canvas

24" x 48"  $400.00                                 24" x 48" $400.00

Four Square Birch Oil Paintings

These 4 oil paintings remind me of confetti.  The trees seem happy to me, like they are having a party in the woods to celebrate the coming of spring.

Oil on canvas board
Framed in Black
8"x8" each
$40.00 each

Top Left  is Square Birch I,
Top Right is Square Birch II,
Bottom Left is Square Birch III,
Bottom Right is Square Birch IV,

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....

Abstract Tree II

Abstract Tree II
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic Collage on Canvas
18" x 18"
$75.00

"I like trees because they seem more resigned to the way they have to live than other things do."-   Willa Cather (1873-1947), O Pioneers 1913  

June Forest Progression DAY FIVE

More warmth...I wanted it to feel like the sun is shining...

This was my color palate for today's work
deep yellow, raw sienna, blue violet, and white

I used small brushes and gave the tree edges some shadow, lines and texture. You have to look close to see the changes I made today, but they do make a difference. Almost done.

June Forest Progression Day 5

June Forest Progression DAY THREE

Today, I decided most of the trees were too wide and not quite vertical enough.  I repainted most of the sky and made the trees taller and thinner.  I like it much better this way because it seems like the trees are actually going somewhere.  It's growing.

Day 3 of June Forest

by Cheryl Harris White

Acrylic on Canvas

36" x 24"

June Forest Progression DAY TWO

On Day 2 I did the basic outline of where I wanted most of my trees.  I also started adding a little moss and texture to the trunks.  It's starting to look like something is going on here, but not near finished yet.

Day 2 of June Forest

by Cheryl Harris White

Acrylic on Canvas

36" x 24"

June Forest Progression DAY ONE

I started a new large painting yesterday.  It will be a forest, and since it is now June, I'm going to call it June Forest.  Not my most creative title for a painting.  

So far I have leaves on the ground and sky.  I used a lot of purple for the shadowy part of the forest floor and imagined it was laughing while I painted it.  I added red next, because the purple needed a bright color to dance with.  I'll photograph this one as I paint it to show it's progression.

Day 1 of June Forest
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic on Canvas
36" x 24"

Confetti Forests

Confetti Forest I
by Cheryl Harris White
11" x 13"
Acrylic on Canvas

Don't these 2 paintings just feel like the trees are having a party?... The leaves look like confetti on the forest floor and balloons floating toward the sky.  


While I was painting these I asked myself the question, "If the forest trees were to throw a party, what might they be trying to celebrate?"
                                                                                

Confetti Forest II
by Cheryl Harris White
11" x 13"
Acrylic on Canvas

<sup>I thought of Isaiah 55:8 - 13 . . .


8</sup> “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. ⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ¹² You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn bush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow. This will be for the LORD’s renown, for an everlasting sign, that will endure forever.”

Being friends with ME

This one is a companion painting with last Monday's painting (April 25th). Same subject, same color palate, just a little bit different.  I guess everyone needs a good friend they have a lot in common with...even paintings.  I think they look great together.

I've thought a lot about my friendships lately. I cherish the friends I have made throughout my life, but I don't really think I make friends very quickly.  When I meet a new person I usually like them or dislike them right away, but it takes me a LONG time to figure out if we will be really good friends or not....some quicker than others, but it has always taken me time.  I actually like the time it takes me to grow a friendship with a person.  Developing relationships slowly feels like a worthwhile long term investment creating value over time.  I think that is why I like painting trees so much.  They are slow growing, but strong and dependable and the roots go deep. That is the kind of friend I like to be to people.       

For both of these, I used a palate knife and lots of thick paint.

Rain Path Birch
by Cheryl White
Acrylic on Canvas
11" x 16"

Trees on Blue and Red

Trees on Red and Blue
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic on Canvas
4 x 6

On this one I decided to try Red and Blue for the the background on this tree painting. 


I LOVE IT!!!! 


It really looks cute in a frame and is one of my favorite little paintings. 


Whenever I paint anything from nature... trees, flowers, water... I get so much satisfaction out of just creating a picture of something God made.... and then I think, how much satisfaction did God have when he created a real tree, or a real flower?  He created each thing and then spoke, "It is good" .  How perfect His creation is.  I am so thankful for each and every piece of it.  

Six Birch Trees

Birch Trees

by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic on Canvas

18" x 18"

This is a different painting from yesterday, same style. The smaller picture above  is phase one.  I put the leaves where I thought trees might look good basically. You can kind of see where the leaves of the foremost tree were going on the left side there. ...Then on the large photo, you see the finished painting.  I used a palate knife loaded with thick white paint to add the trees.  I let some color show on the white bark of the birch trees just for fun. I also liked grounding the trees this time, showing where they sprout from the ground.  I loved the result. I'm definitely going to do more like this!