Thursday, June 21, 2012

Lilac Painting

11x14 Oil on Canvas
Cheri Wollenberg
When I paint lilacs I am always reminded of my grandmother, her last country home and her flowers and garden.  I am reminded of learning how to snap beans, shell black-eyed peas, and cousins.  Yes...cousins.  My mother and father both were from families of nine children, so I had lots of cousins.  Just the scent of lilacs remind me of my grandmother's driveway.  Her lilac bushes were huge (at least to a kid) and they grew up on the bank from the ditch along her driveway.  I was born in the oldest set of grandchildren and I remember literally digging a horseshoe tunnel along with my cousins into the bank next to the lilac bushes, covering it with old lumber and dirt. After we sufficiently covered the claustrophobic tunnel came the "DARE".  We each had to take turns and crawl through the horseshoe tunnel on our bellies........it was sort of like an acceptance code of being in the "in crowd"!  The "in crowd" of older cousins!  The crazy thing is that it took us forever to dig the tunnel for the short "thrill" it gave each of us.  It seemed to take a lot longer and not near as much fun filling the dirt back into the hole.  Lilacs, an old fashioned flower, have so much more meaning for me than the beautiful scent, the fabulous lilac color and my passion for painting them with canvas and paint.  This painting is listed in my Etsy store.  Click here.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Brilliant, Yellow Sunflower Bouquet Still Life

11x14 Oil on Canvas
Cheri Wollenberg
Brilliant yellow sunflowers are beginning to pop up from the red earth here in Oklahoma.  By the end of July these wildflowers will be in the ditches of country roads everywhere.  Many choose to think of them as a weed of nuisance but they are such beautiful wildflowers.  I love to paint them (as do many artists) in still lifes especially when they are placed with their complementary colors of blues and purples.  This color combination brings a dazzle to my eye and brings a "happy" sense of feeling to my heart:)  To find this still life follow this link.

Poppy The Pig, Original Oil Painting by Cheri Wollenberg

Poppy Original 8x8 Oil Painting On Canvas by Cheri Wollenberg   Poppy is pig who might be hungry and waiting on his master to bring corn or ...