Sunflowers II

Sunflowers II

12x24 Original Oil on Stretched Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

I have been stuck on sunflowers lately. I painted some from life and then I had so many reference pictures that I kept on painting them.   If you are interested in purchasing this painting, follow this link:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/55946160/sunflower-ii-12x24-original-oil-painting 

Little Daisy Bouquet

Little Daisy Bouquet

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Pink Peonies

Pink Peonies

12x12 Wrap Around Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

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 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.  

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).

Oranges and Poppies

Oranges and Poppies

by Cheri Wollenberg

(Sold)

Exciting complementary composition that dazzles the eye in vibrant yellow-oranges to blue-purples with rusts, browns, and golds splashed throughout as discords. This painting is framed with a wooden cradle stained in dark brown.

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.

Blue and Pink Hydrangea

Blue and Pink Hydrangea

12x12 Original Oil Painting on Wrap Around Canvas

by

Cheri Wollenberg

Composition is always one of the first things I think about when I begin the process of painting. I have found that it is better for me to think things out first. When painting from a picture as beautiful as the one Dana Marie has provided, many decisions seem to be already made for me. It is rather tempting to paint exactly as the image. Since it is such a wonderful image in the first place, I began to think first in terms of originality and format. Where should I place the focal point? I didn't want to copy her image exactly. I decided to go for a square format, 12x12, and squeeze the clusters of hydrangea a little closer. Next, I changed a couple of the flowers to shades of pinks and red blue-purples. Early on as I painted I wanted to use more yellows and yellow oranges in the background to complement the blue and purple shades of the hydrangea. This set a perfect stage for the little yellow beauties to become more harmoneous to the whole composition. What fun! Thank you Dana Marie. Hope your move goes well.