Memories

Memories
Acrylic and Collage on Canvas
by Cheryl Harris White
3 ft x 3 ft
$200.00
In our yard in Ohio, when I was a child, there was a huge weeping willow tree.  Under it, my little sister and I used to play for hours and have tea parties.  We moved to Texas, when I was 8 years old and I have never returned,  but I remember it like it was yesterday,  and those moments were the inspiration behind this piece.  

Intended to Grow

This is one of a series of four trees I have been finishing up.  The thing I liked most about doing these pieces, was how they grew as I worked.  Each layer became a platform for the next...until it was full and beautiful.  I just love things that grow.  There is one tree at the corner of our house that the previous owners had topped off and it hasn't grown since.  It is quite an annoyance, just sitting there taking up space, reminding me each day of it's wasted potential.  I think people are a lot like trees.   Some of them grow and it is beautiful to watch... but others are so damaged that they just sit there doing nothing.  We, and trees, were intended to grow,  and that is how I prefer it.  

Green Tree with Blue Leaves
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic Collage
18" x 24"
$75.00

                                                     

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!

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?

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.

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.  

Winter Tree ... One of Four

"Winter Tree"
Acrylic and Paper Collage on Canvas
12" x 24"
by Cheryl Harris White
Not For Sale


This piece is one of a set of four I just started.  It was also a specific answer to a prayer for inspiration.  I combined words and colors from magazines along with acrylic paint to create this one.

"Of all the moments we gather in our lives, Those we cherish are the moments shared." is on one of the roots.  Wonder, Color, Lush are on the others.  Spreading up the trunk are the words Kindred Spirits and Understanding.  I liked the idea these concepts are the foundation of something lasting and beautiful and that is what I tried to re create in this painting.

Stay tuned for the next three.  Each one will illustrate a different season.

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  

Old Paint, New Art

So far, I've shared artwork which had mostly been done between 2005 and 2010.  I've really enjoyed revisiting my older paintings and documenting what I was learning as I did them...but now that I am caught up, I am equally glad to be at a point where I am looking forward...which brings us to 2011!  The rest of Paint on My Walls, is going to be about the art I'm doing now instead of looking back at art I did in the past...  Look at it like this...Up to this point I showed you art in my "BC" (Blog Catch-up) time period... and from this point on, I'll be sharing my "AD" (After Depression ) artwork.

Three Trees At Night
by Cheryl Harris White
Acrylic collage on Canvas
9" x 12"

I'm definitely not a daily painter yet, so I won't be posting a new painting every day like I have in the past.  But, I will be painting.... and as each one gets done, or maybe as it is in process, I'll share it.  The journey continues.

This painting is a recent painting I just finished this week entitled Three Trees At Night.  It is an appropriate illustration of the trials I've gone through over the last three years.  The three trees are actually made of dried acrylic paint I found when I was cleaning up my studio. I chipped off layers of hardened paint off my easel.  It was difficult to pry up... but as it came off in thick pieces, I noted that the texture reminded me of tree trunks.  I almost threw it all in the trash, but decided to try making trees with it instead and this painting was the result.  I love it because it is an example of how something that would have normally been thrown away became a beautiful work of art.  That's how I feel about the depression I went through.  It was ugly and hard, but God, my master artist, has used it to create a beautiful part of who I am in Him.  I am His masterpiece.