Pink and White Peonies

Pink and White Peonies

18x18 Oil on Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Last spring one of my students brought some pink peonies for my class to paint in a still life arrangement.  I had some white ones that we mixed with them to make a fuller bouquet.  I can almost smell the fragrance they made as I write this post.  Their aroma is extremely pleasing to me.  As I painted this composition, I changed the peonies to a more peach colored pink in this painting.  They were actually an intense or hot pink color, but this particular "vignette" of peonies, I wanted to do warm tones.  I enjoy the challenge of the anatomy of the particular flower, peony.  Since this image was taken, I've painted the bud in the foreground a little sharper.  I felt it didn't need to be quite so lost and it needed to come more forward.  I have set my white peonies in still lifes every year for about 9 years now.  Each year I find that they are a challenge.  I don't know why they are a little difficult, but I thoroughly enjoy the process of painting them and hope that I learn more each time.  To see the price of this painting you can click Peonies. 

White Peonies in Pink Vase

White Peonies in Pink Vase

10x10 Oil on Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

I have white peonies that bloom every spring in my yard.  Each year I hardly can wait to paint them.  Their anatomy is so delicate and beautiful.  There are yellows and oranges that radiate out in the middle and through the slender petals from the center of the bloom itself.  Then on the outside of the bloom away from the bulbular center fall these very pale pink and white petals that catch light blue reflections from the sky and artificial light.  Peonies are a little challenging to paint, and sometimes I feel more successful in painting them than other times, but they are always a joy to try to emulate.  The pink vase is one of my still life favorites and I save it for very special flowers.  It is like a favorite child (laugh).  This year it seemed to cry out to me, to place these few peonies in it.  They compliment one another very well.  This painting is pretty high-key and has a pastel overtone.  To buy it you can click Peonies.

Pansies in a White Gravy Boat

Pansies in a Gravy Boat

9x12 Oil on Linen

by

Cheri Wollenberg

My painting students wanted me to create a still life for them to paint this week.  I decided to arrange these cute little pansies in this wonderful ceramic piece that one of them had left with my still life container collection.  It made a delicate subject and extremely enjoyable one to paint.  The background was a gold piece of fabric and the gravy boat sat on a light teal colored cloth.  I decided to push the golds some by adding rusts and siennas so that there would be an orange hue to complement the teal colors.  The golden colors enhanced by the light made a great background for the purples of course.  The linen canvas is glued to heavy foam board so the painting requires framing. 

Strawberries in a White Tin Cup

SOLD

Strawberries in a White Tin Cup

8x8 Oil on Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Spring Break and vacation time was the venue for last week for my husband and I.  Sounds good, but this always means work for us!  We have an old ranch style country home in Oklahoma that we have been remodeling.  I took along my oil paints hoping that I will be able to paint sore muscles and all (laugh).   One morning I arranged this still life on a shelf I have in the mud room.  The sun was bursting through the windows creating an extreme high-key composition.  It was beautiful!  I decided to use contrasts in temperature leaving the strawberries to create contrast for the darkest values. 

Blue Enamel Pot and Red Tomatoes

Blue Enamel Pot and Red Tomatoes

12x12 Original Oil on Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

This painting is from an image I photographed several years ago.  An artist friend brought in a basket full of very ripe tomatoes, green beans, and black-eyed susan flowers.  My goodness did we ever have a "photo shoot".  We arranged them in baskets, pots, and in every possible way  that we could imagine in a matter of very little time.  The experience we had was in itself beautiful.  The delights that artists have are so playful and childlike.  To my knowlege, I think the tomatoes were the only things I actually painted from life.  What a shame!  But, I have countless resources and sometimes I open that folder and remember my dear little friend - who has since moved away to another state.  I enjoyed painting Blue Enamel Pot and Red Tomatoes.  It has a real country mood to it.  Reminds me of other times in my past.

Meadow

Meadow

6x6 Oil on Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

(SOLD)

The inspiration for this little painting came from my daughter-in-law who sent an image to me from her iphone.  She had been out feeding their cattle.  I have a difficult time painting landscapes on small canvases.  I am determined to do some plein air painting this fall.  Painting from life is always more invigorating and satisfying.  I am spoiled with still lifes because I can set them up in the setting of a comfortable studio and they are "still".  I will challenge myself this autumn to paint outdoors!

This painting may be purchased at:  Meadow

Daisies and Lemons

Daisies and Lemons

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Inspiration came for this painting from a art challenge provided by another etsy member, http://www.danamarieart.etsy.com/. Originally we were challenged to be inspired by Van Gogh's painting, Still Life with Pitcher and Lemons. I met the challenge, posted it, and while I had those beautiful lemons I began to arrange them in different compositions. I have been painting lemons for the last week! Please enjoy these lemons as I have and visit Dana Marie's art. She is a fantastic etsy artist and very special person.  To purchase this painting you may go to my etsy shop, http://www.chatterboxart.etsy.com/.

Lilac Bouquet

Lilac Bouquet

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Lilacs are some of my favorite flowers.  Actually when I think of them I begin to remember times when I was a child.  My grandmother had huge lilac bushes.  I can almost smell their wonderful fragrance thinking of them.   They are lovely to paint.  Fresh colors of orchids, purples, maroons, and pinks.  Using a cool palette of colors in the forground with a warm background creates just enough contrast to allow this simple little composition to hold it's own.

Pink and White Roses in Clear Vase

Pink and White Roses in Clear Vase

by

Cheri Wollenberg

This painting features a pink and white rose bouquet in a clear vase. The background carries some of the warm colors of the roses to create a harmonious composition. It can be purchased at chatterboxart.etsy.com.

Van Gogh Inspiration - Lemons

Van Gogh Inspiration - Lemons

by

Cheri Wollenberg

This simple little painting is one I painted  for the Inspiration All Around Us challenge blog.  Dana Marie challenged and inspired us with Van Gogh's "Still Life with Pitcher and Lemons".  The prints we see of this painting by Van Gogh are probably a little altered.  I've only been fortunate to see a few of his in real life.  I found other images of this painting online and in some of my art books.  Most of them were a little different in intensity and/or value.  I like the image Dana Marie gave us best.  It is more high key and the colors are more intense.  I like to believe that this is the way he painted. 

As mentioned above the later image is more intense and is high key in mood.  The patterns he used behind his still life set up are vertical in nature and stops the viewers' eye from leaving the composition ("very clever, Mr. Van Gogh").  It is painted in a warm palette, but intense enough to create an exciting visual mood.  Some movement is made with the brush strokes around the saucer...leading the eye up to the vertical patterns...also holding the viewers' eye to the composition ("kudos again, Mr. Van Gogh").  The glass container also repeats patterns that create stability.

Now...my painting on the other hand is not high in intensity, not nearly as exciting, but the dark contrast creates a little drama.  Great practice!  Painting the lemons inspired me to paint other still lifes with lemons. I especially enjoyed doing this painting.  Dana Marie you inspired us again!  Thanks.

Pink and Yellow Floral Arrangement

Pink and Yellow Flowers

by

Cheri Wollenberg

I did this arrangement of vibrant pink and yellow flowers in impressionistic style. Beautiful analogous colors are laid in heavily with brush strokes and palette knife.  I loved the warm colors in this composition.  A young lady in Canada bought it in my shop in Etsy.

Bouquet of Lilacs

Shirley's Lilacs

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Each spring my friend Shirley shares bouquets of her beautiful, fragrant lilacs with me for still lifes. I can hardly wait till I get home to set them up in a composition using some of my favorite containers and objects. The process is so exciting and the fragrance enhances each brushstroke.  In this particular set up I chose a copper pot to place them in.  It made a lovely color combination, and I particularly admired the reflection on the black table surface.  I also added strewn lilac petals around which further filled the negative space in an exciting way.  

Oklahoma Black-eyed Susan Meadow

Oklahoma Black-eyed Susan Meadow

by

Cheri Wollenberg

This is yet another meadow of black eyed susans that I spotted on a drive to Oklahoma. Through the years my husband has quit being startled when I say “stop” to take a photo! In fact he has begun to be on the lookout with me (smiles). Though the black eyed susan is considered a weed I cannot ever dislike it. The golden carpets they make are so inviting. It is like they are speaking to us, telling us to come….run through them, smell them, touch them, pick them, and enjoy them.

Green Apples and Turquoise Pitcher

Turquioise Pitcher and Fruit

by

Cheri Wollenberg

This painting features a turquoise pitcher that I use quite often in my still lifes.  It has great shape and color and has a country feel.  It will also reflect other colors beautifully which makes for exciting color in  compositions.  This particular painting has a neutral background with seinnas splashed occationally with red oranges and oranges....to complement the blue greens in the pitcher.  The green apples make a great  discord interest. The fruit is cradled in a vintage tea towel.

If you are interested in purchasing this painting you may do so by following this link:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/24966316/turquoise-pitcher-and-apples-original

White Lilies

White Lilies

9x12 Original Oil on Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

There is a first time for everything!  I have never attempted painting the lily.  Oh my, they are elegant and dignified white flowers.  I enjoyed the creating the curls and curves of each petal with my brush.  This is a small, 9x12 painting that I practiced on before beginning a larger still life composition in which I included a bouquet of the white lilies.  Great experience!  You can purchase this painting on http://www.chatterboxart.etsy.com/. 

Pink Roses

Pink Roses in Pale Turquoise Vase

by

Cheri Wollenberg

(Sold)

In the late spring one of my students brought fresh roses from her garden for several weeks.  She provided quite an array of colors each week.  My class had the best time painting the still lifes we set up.  We are still painting on some of the images taken in the photo shoots of those sessions.  This painting is one that I cropped so that I could enhance the roses to their full potential.  I wanted some discourse colors added to the composition for interest, but I wanted the pinks to be very  prominent.  I loved doing them.  I had better luck getting these subtle tones of pinks by adding light red to my palette.  I used alizarin crimson and light red for the lightest pinks and added a primary red that I tucked away to given an additional red tone.   I decreased the intensity of the pinks by adding yellow greens and I'm really quite pleased with the result.  I still have a tendency to overwork some, but I'm satisfied that I didn't completely do it in (smiles).

Pink Vase and Strawberries

This small painting is one I produced after I did several daily painting studies of strawberries. I wanted to create a feeling of warmth and enticement with warm, brilliant reds and pinks. It is feminine in nature and mood and appeals to me.