Header, Cheryl White Art,

Author: Cheryl White

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Palate Knife Oil Painting

The Road to Turtle Lake

There is a place in Minnesota that nourishes my body, mind, and soul called Turtle Lake. Some of the dearest people we know live there and their cabin has been a place of healing for me both times I’ve gone there. The pine tree-filled sky filled the cells of my body with oxygen and the clear crisp lake water soaked into my joints healing inflammation. The green and blue space surrounding me was rest for my weary mind. To get there, you have to drive down this winding dirt road through the forest. It’s like a path to peace. When...

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Color

Sweet Lavender Field Painting

One of my favorite crops to see growing in a field is lavender! The purple fluffy rows of bushy blooming herbs fill my heart with happiness. The herb gets its name from the Latin root lavare, which means “to wash.” This makes sense as it is so useful in a hot bath for soaking aching muscles and relaxing. While reading more about lavender, I also learned that it is a common remedy for insomnia and a balm for anxiety, depression, and fatigue. What could be sweeter than French Lavender? How about a small painting covered in thick brush strokes of...

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Palate Knife Oil Painting

All Creatures Great and Small

Creature Inspiration Two of my favorite sources of inspiration for creating art about animals are books! Reading James Herriot’s All Creatures Great and Small warmed my heart and drew me into the country English setting and the quaint world of a country veterinarian with curiosity and wonder. Another book I love is Rien Poortvliets’ Noah’s Ark. It’s a beautifully done artistic journal of what life with animals on an ark could have been like. He’s an extremely gifted artist and has created an amazing celebration of life in this book. A graphite study I did from his book is below...

Glorious Messenger 0

Palate Knife Oil Painting

Glorious Messenger

Glorious Messenger is a Christmas painting inspired by Luke 2:8-10 I just finished. In the passage, the shepherd’s encounter with an angel from the Lord is recorded and leaves the reader with a sense of awe and wonder. It made me curious. The only description we have is that the angel is described as suddenly appearing to them and because the glory of the Lord filled the area with light, they were terrified. What would that look like? What would it have felt like to witness this? This painting is not intended to answer these questions definitively but is my...

Sea Turtle, Cheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, 0

Color

Sea Turtle Progression

How painting a Sea Turtle showed me the value of mid-tones. This was a commission from a friend who absolutely loves Sea Turtles. I love them too but this was not a subject I would have chosen because of the detail involved but I dove into the challenge. As the painting progressed I focused on the darkest and lightest values during the entire process. At the suggestion of my wonderful artist friends in Art Kula, I finally added the mid-tones at the end. The video below shows the Sea Turtle progression from start to finish. You will notice how heavy...

Beach, Sand, Wave, Ocean, Cheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, 0

Color

A Wave On the Sand

Waves of water in motion Powerful, gentle, rolling, crashing, sweet, salty waves engaged my heart for hours on a beach in Roatan last month. The waves that day moved within the ocean’s space and the tide’s rhythm contently. They were safe to swim in. I considered how the constant motion of the ocean is contained when waves on the sand reach their natural limits. Watching the beautiful conflict of rolling water breaking with a crash, and melting back soothingly into the ocean was mesmerizing. The movement stilled me with a calm rhythm that healed. Sand is the stuff of the...

cropped Three Birds on Beach 6

Color

Beach Therapy for An Artist’s Soul

Beach Therapy Beach therapy happens when you step out of the stress and pressure of your daily life and plunge yourself into days of rest at the shore of the ocean. Beach Therapy for an Artis’s soul happened by allowing myself to embrace the actual Creator of this beauty and explore more deeply what He is like. Looking at the expanse of the horizon and the power of the ocean, I encountered God in a posture of wonder and awe. The entire experience was a gift. Ocean Inspiration There is so much to love about the ocean. The rhythm of...

Happy Birthday Cake, Oil with palette knife, Cheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, 0

Life

One Year Later, Happy Blog Birthday!

On August 13th, 2021 www.CherylWhiteArt.com was born, and one year later, I look back and remember the journey. I had recently switched from working full-time to part-time and was pouring my creative self back into art. Desire, ask, believe, receive. Stella Terrill Mann One Year Later, Something to Celebrate! Looking back, I find many things to celebrate… 2 art sales, 20 posts, over a dozen sold paintings, many welcomed women to my home for art nights, and countless happy hours spent in my studio. My blood pressure dropped 10 points along with my stress level and I had margin in...

Pastel, Bubble Girl, Cheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, 1

Classes

Is Learning to Draw A Necessary Skill for Artists?

It’s a great question: How important are drawing skills anyway? Many artists new to painting can find enjoyment in mixing colors, art journaling, experimenting with different mediums, and splashing around a canvas with a bit of color without learning how to draw. There are many ways to get your image onto the canvas first before starting a painting without drawing, so why should artists bother to learn to draw? Benefits of learning to draw My opinion is that yes, drawing is definitely a valuable skill for artists no matter what type of art they prefer to do. Drawing helps with...

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Collage / Color

A Spring Tree for my friend

A friend messaged me on Facebook asking for a painting of one of my trees. It’s always a joy when someone I knew quite a long time ago reaches out and we can reconnect. I remembered her as an inspirational woman who loved God and her family well. She served and blessed others with her encouragement and humility and patient strength. I worked to create a piece that included teals and reds that she likes with a calm, serene feel. As spring unfolded around me, the tree also came to life on my canvas. The background is acrylic laid on...