CWA

July 21, 2023

How to Mix A Variety of Greens

Mixing Greens Demo

We all know that yellow and blue make green. But what type of green you want determines which blues and yellows you will start with. The demo in the video below is done with oil paints, but it would hold true for acrylics as well. In this video, I show the different greens possible using 5 paint colors: Cerulean Blue and Ultramarine Blue, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue, and Lemon Yellow.

Leaning Colors

That is not a typo. I’m not talking about “learning” colors, but “leaning” colors. If you visualize a color wheel, there are several blues, several yellows, and several reds and each of them leans a little bit more to the analogous color or the color next to them. In the video, I mention that some blues will lean more toward either purple or green. Those are the two colors adjacent to blue on the color wheel. If I want a very vivid pure green, I’m going to select a blue and a yellow that lean toward green. If I want more of a dull green, like olive, I’m going to select a yellow and or a blue that leans away from green. The reason for this is that they will have more red in them which is a complementary ( or opposite ) color. In the color wheel below, the complementary color combinations are Red and Green; Cadmium Yellow and Violet; Orange and Pthalo Blue; Yellowish Green and Magenta. If I have a tube of Ultramarine Blue and a tube of Cerulean Blue and I want to make a vivid pure green with Lemon Yellow, I’m going to choose the blue with the most green in it…or the blue that leans more toward green which is the Cerulean. However, if I’m trying to make a dull more olive green, I’ll go with the Ultramarine. This is because the Ultramarine has more red in it and leans in that direction instead.

Out of the colors in the video demo above, Cerulean Blue and Lemon Yellow both lean toward green. Ultramarine Blue leans in the opposite direction toward Violet. Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue leans in the opposite direction toward Orange. Yellow Ochre leans toward Deep Orange or Brown away from green as well. If I am painting and I want a duller or olive or almost brown-green, I’ll use blue and yellows that lean away from the green. If I want a vivid, pure green, I’ll use colors that lean toward it.

What if I want a beautiful vivid purple? Which tube of blue leans more toward red? The ultramarine. I’ll cover that in a different post.

The Color Wheel

Most color wheels you buy from art supply stores are not going to have the actual tube paint names on them. They are helpful for understanding color theory. However, I prefer to just keep this “leaning colors” idea in my head while I am painting.

If you like the color wheel above, I actually got it for free in this disposable paint palette pad! I purchase the Grey Matters Paper Palette pads to mix my paint on and believe it or not this color wheel is on the inside cover of the pad. These are a great size for mixing paint on and toned grey to help you get the correct value in your mixes. I love the convenience of just being able to throw away my page from the pad when I am finished. Or, if I’m not finished, I can fold it up into a ziplock bag and save it in my refrigerator until I’m ready to paint the next day. You can find these at your favorite art supply store or in the link above on Amazon. It’s a great product with the perfect color tool included.

For more posts about classes or how to create art click the Classes tab at the top of the page. Be sure to subscribe and follow for more color-mixing demos coming soon!

Oil Painting

July 20, 2023

Cool Color Palette Cabin At Turtle Lake Painting

The Place

It’s hard to decide which is more fun, visiting our friend’s cabin at Turtle Lake or painting it.

We love getting out of the Texas heat and driving up to visit them. The sweet fellowship, cooling lake water, excellent fresh-caught fish, and pine-scented air set the perfect backdrop for rest, relaxation, and renewal. There is no road to this cabin. You can only get there by boat. There is no internet or wifi or social media. There is a TV, but for some reason, while we are there, there’s no time to watch it. It is truly a place of rest. There are no schedules, stress, distress, deadlines, fear, hurry, worry, or anxious hearts. Clocks and calendars become insignificant as I align my internal rhythm with the rising and setting of the sun each glorious day. Just being there embodies the verse I love so much from the Psalms below.

The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters.
Psalm 23:1-2

The Painting

For this small painting, I stayed with a cool color palette. It was done in oil paint on a small 11″x14″ canvas board in a very loose style. I love the way the deep darks captured the shady serenity of this spot. As I moved towards the shore, I warmed up the greens a bit.

Cabin At Turtle Lake, Oil painting, Paintonmywalls, CherylWhiteArt, Art — Cabin At Turtle Lake, 11×14 inches, Oil on Canvas Board, $75.00

This painting and others in this series are for sale on my Art Gallery Page! Check it out!

The Process

The colors in my palette this time were Alizarine Crimson, Cerulean Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Red, Lemmon Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Yellow Hue, and Titanium White. I started out painting the darkest shapes first and mixed the lighter colors into the top layers.

Plein Air Painting and Sketching

July 6, 2023

Lily Pads on Turtle Lake

Lily Pads on Turtle Lake Inspiration

Turtle Lake is in Northern Minnesota and summer visits there always include lots of fishing. This photo below is of one of our friend’s favorite fishing spots. Its shady bank is a haven for fish and the water’s surface is littered with lily pads. I didn’t catch fish, but I did catch the perfect inspiration for a lovely lily pad painting.

For the actual painting, I zoomed in to just focus on the lily pads for this one. This is done on an 11″ by 14″ canvas board. The palette included Blue Grey, Ultramarine Blue, Rose Red, Burnt Umber, Titanium White, Veridian, Yellow Green, Hansa Yellow, and Cadmium Yellow Hue.

Lily Pads on Turtle Lake Process

My process starts with mixing the darkest paint first and laying that layer down very thin, As I build color, each layer I add gets thicker. I begin painting with a bristle brush and toward the end of the painting am applying the paint with a palette knife. Enjoy this video of the process below and I hope you catch a little inspiration for yourself as well.

Lily Pads on Turtle Lake Painting

Here is the end result. Check out my Art for Sale page for more available artwork and contact me if you are interested in buying this one.

Lily Pads on Turtle Lake, 11"x14" on canvas board, framed. $100.00 — Lily Pads on Turtle Lake, 11″x14″ on canvas board, framed. $100.00

Plein Air Painting and Sketching

July 3, 2023

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 the temperatures here in Texas reached over 100 last week, I remembered what it felt like to be there and found some photos of sweet memories from our trips there. Once I looked through them there was nothing else to do, but start painting them. Here’s the first one. Enjoy!

Painting, Road to Turtle Lake 8x10 oil on canvas board NFS — Road to Turtle Lake 8×10 oil on canvas board

This is a small study and not for sale, but someday I plan on painting a larger one like this. Check out my gallery page for other paintings for sale. The style is similar to my palette knife paintings, but this one is done in loose brush strokes and celebrates the contrasting dark and light colors, of the thick woods with the cleared light-filled road. Inspired by the life of the woods and the joy of reaching the light at the far bend on the way to the lake.

Color

June 14, 2023

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 blue and purple oil paint laying out a field under a hazy cool sky? I just loved doing this little painting and haven’t posted in a while so it’s time for its debut!

Sweet Lavender Field, oil on canvas board, 8″x10″. $55.00

What works for me in this painting is the sun-soaked yellow grass next to the bold purple lavender. Yellow is also the complementary color to purple so it adds a lot of “pop” to have them next to each other. It is done on a small 8×10-inch canvas board and was just a quick study. My plan is to do a much larger one like this when I have more time. This is just the appetizer, but for now, though, “Sweet Lavender Field” gets the spotlight.

To see more artwork for sale visit my gallery page.

Plein Air Painting and Sketching

December 29, 2022

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 showing all kinds of wonderful animal noses.

Creatures Great And Small On Parade

This year in my Draw Awesome Art class we were challenged to create a literal parade of lovely animals in various mediums. Below are some of those amazing creatures and some of my own from outside of class as well. Seeing them all together feels a bit like a party celebrating life.

Bird on the sand, oil paint on canvas 10"x10" $50;00 — Sea Turtle, Acrylic on Canvas

Creature Gifts

One of the most rewarding things I have done as an artist so far has been giving the gift of art to another person. This year I completed two pet portraits and hope to do many more next year. Meet Aria and Trapper.

Pet portrait — Trapper, Pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes paper 8×10″

Trapper, Pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes paper 8×10″

Both of these were done on 8×10″ Mi-Tientes paper in pastel. and come matted for an 11×14″ frame. Commissions are possible in this same size for $100.00. Contact me if you have a special furry friend that you want a portrait of at [email protected].

Plein Air Painting and Sketching

December 22, 2022

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 exploration of the wonder and unknown surrounding the story.

I love following The Chosen productions about the life of Christ. Check out their piece called The Shepherd here which really began it all. Spoiler alert, the video does not attempt to show us what the angel looked like but it does a wonderful job of capturing the fear and awe the encounter would have inspired.

Of course, there is no way of knowing what the Angel messengers looked like when they announced the birth of Jesus that night to the shepherds. I don’t claim to know either, but the story and my interpretation of a Glorious Messenger inspire this painting. This was done with layers of oil paint and a palette knife with a light-filled bold color palette. The strokes were intended to capture the energy and drama of the moment when the and, along with the angel’s, proclaims, “Don’t be afraid! I have good news for you, a message that will fill everyone with joy. ¹¹Today your Savior, Christ the Lord, was born in David’s city. ¹²This is how you will recognize him: You will find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.”

This is indeed good news! Praying your Christmas season is a celebration of great joy as well.”

For more about purchasing this piece or any art, see the Art For Sale Page.

Color

October 19, 2022

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.

incomplete sea turtle, acrylic Cheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, — Only dark and light tones

Sea Turtle, Progression, Complete, AcrylicCheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, — Only dark and light tones

The video below shows the Sea Turtle progression from start to finish. You will notice how heavy the turtle looks until the final frame and how the background seems dull. This is an excellent example of why dark, light, and middle values are all necessary for a piece of art. As soon as the highlights of pink and lighter purple are added the entire painting pops and the background looks brighter. and the turtle actually looks like He is swimming free, which is the name of this painting.

Swimming Free, Acrylic on Canvas, 16″ x 20″, SOLD

I can’t say I am eager to do another sea turtle or any reptile with scales any time soon, but it is quite rewarding to see the finished turtle swimming free.

Color

October 5, 2022

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 beach

A soft landing pad for the waves, sand sticks to my wet skin when I walk in it making warm and soft cradles for my footprints. The soles of my feet do not know that the sand is actually hard rock, brittle shells, and sharp coral broken into small fragments called grains. Walking barefoot on coral and rock would normally bring pain. My husband found this out when he stepped on a sharp coral while we were in Belize and needed three stitches on the bottom of his foot. It is still healing and we were both surprised at how large a cut he had from the encounter. But, here, on this sandy beach, on this beautiful day, the grains of hard rock and sharp shells and coral, broken so small they are soft to step on, welcome bare-footed travelers without malice. The sand supported me.

I don’t like math much so I didn’t waste any time considering how many grains of sand there are on all the beaches of the world. If you like math, I found a wild estimate by asking Alexa.

Earth’s beaches contain roughly 5,000 billion billion-aka, 5 sextillion-grains of sand. We’ve now estimated that there are about 8,000,000,000 equal to 8×10^9 grains of sand per cubic meter of beach, and that the Earth contains roughly 700,000,000,000 equal to 7×10^11 cubic meters of beach.
Alexa

That does not even include the sand in deserts or on the bottom of the ocean. It’s mind-boggling, and some may find that stuff interesting, but I’m an artist and would much rather tell you how all that wonderful sand inspired this painting.

Oil, Beach, Wave, Sand, Ocean, Cheryl White, Artist, Blogger, Paintonmywalls, — A Wave On the Sand by Cheryl Harris White

A Wave On the Sand Painting

Considering the breaking waves, and the broken pieces of hard rock made into soft sand, I also observed how the blues in front of me were also separated into sky and water, deep and shallow. How the light reflected differently on the wet sand and the water along the horizon or next to a boat also seemed broken into dazzling pieces of color and diamonds. The sand in shadow is almost blue and purple, while the sand in the sun is dazzling white. Sand magnified under a microscope reveals even more colors and a stunning array of shapes and forms. I wanted to put the ” knowing” of that into the painting as well with broken brush strokes loaded with color.

The life-giving light and the broken beauty of the ocean inspired me to paint this piece. I loved it all and wanted to capture how a place that was broken to pieces actually made me feel so whole and connected to something bigger than myself.

To see a World in a Grain of Sand, And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand, And Eternity in an hour,
From Auguries of Innocence by William Blake

William Blake wrote what my heart spoke to me that day. The beauty, power, and delicacy of the waves and the sand drew me to consider the Creator of it all with curiosity and wonder. That is what I wanted to explore as I created this painting.

If you have been to the beach lately, I would love you to share what about your experience there that you connected with most. I am planning on painting more pieces within this theme and would love to hear from you. Check out more art that is available for sale here.

Color

September 27, 2022

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 the waves and tide, breathing in the sweet clean air, the banquet of varied blues which is a feast for the eyes. As I soaked my body in the healing salt water, inflammation and pain melted away bringing refreshment to my aching joints and tired muscles. A one-hour massage on the beach also helped. In the midst of the needed rest, I found my mind was swirling with inspiration to paint the nature and beauty rolling out in front of me.

Three Birds on the Beach

Launching from this fresh inspiration, I am posting the first of several beach paintings I am planning to do now that I am back home. This one is done in acrylic on a large 36″ x 24″ canvas and titled Three Birds on the Beach. The spots of color randomly sprinkled through the piece remind me of confetti, the rays of the sun, and the sparkles of light on the water. It’s a celebration of the color, light, and life that soaked deep into my soul on each day of my beach therapy.

Three Birds on Beach, oil on canvas 30x40 inches 500.00 — Three Birds on Beach, oil on canvas 30×40 inches 500.00

Therapy for my Soul

The photos, memories, and little bit of sand I brought home with me were beautiful and did nourish and replenish me. However, the true therapy happened as I considered God and how mighty and loving He must be to have made such as thing as the ocean. The time I spent soaking it all in showed me more about who God is and what He must be like. John Piper explains this way better than I can so if you are curious about how being at the ocean reflects the character of God check out this powerful video.

What must God be like?

Have you ever done a search about how many references to the ocean and waves there are in scripture? It’s amazing. What must God be like is a question we could spend a lifetime trying to answer. That’s an invitation friend!

When we look at oceans or mountains, whales or bears, fields or deserts, God wants us to see the beauty, power, and wisdom in his creation and think, “What must God be like!” He wants us to ride the waves he has made into worship, and climb the mountains he built to see more of him.
John Piper

I can’t answer the question of what God must be like for you here in one blog post or a single painting, but next time you are at the ocean, soak it in and relish in the wonder. Be curious and explore and if you can’t get to the ocean soon, just ask Him the question where you are. He is always listening and He will find a way to show you.