Strawberries and Vintage Blue Glass Creamer Still Life Painting

Strawberries and Vintage Blue Glass Creamer

12x12 Oil Painting on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

Thank you for stopping by to visit my blog.  Usually I'm singing my woes that I cannot find the time to paint, but during the last couple of weeks I've painted very consistently full time.  But, to get them posted is another issue!  Spending a great deal of time in one task always takes from another.  Don't you love strawberries! These strawberries were so huge!  My husband and I ate them within 4 days and literally two of them made a huge helping (lol).  When I buy fruit one of the first things I think of is how beautiful!  How Beautiful!  What a blessing it is to eat beautiful food and then in my case, arrange them so that I can make them last longer by painting them in still lifes!!!!  Even in all the snow and bad weather we have had here in Oklahoma we can go to a market and buy beautiful and delicious fruit to eat!  How blessed we are in this life.  This medium to small sized painting is listed in my Etsy store.  You are invited anytime to take a look here.

Still Life Painting - Copper, Crock and Red Onions

Copper, Crock and Red Onions

16x20 Oil on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

This summer we had a great garden.  The okra, black-eyed peas and tomatoes are the only veggies that are still producing at the moment.  Every vegetable that we've taken from our garden was beautiful to me!  Yes... I'm amazed that food can actually start from a "wee" little seed and bring forth fruit that can nourish and sustain us.  What a miracle!  The red onions were the inspiration for my painting here.  They are beautiful in color and texture.  Their design brings joy to my brush:)
You can find this painting here.

Green Pear and Orange Persimmons

 

Orange Persimmons and Green Pear

6x12 Oil on Linen

by

Cheri Wollenberg

 

When I was a child we didn't have "high-tech" tools and toys.  In fact, the year I enrolled in college at Oklahoma State University as a student I was "only an IBM card".  Some readers may know exactly what I'm talking about, but in summary, computers were so large they took up huge rooms in  buildings,  and their information or data was coded on....in this case.....perforated or punched IBM cards or extremely long perforated paper!!!!  If your card was lost....you were lost as a student until they could find the card.  Oh well, to get to my "main" story...losing anyone that might have been interested....persimmons was a mystery to me as a child.  I broke open the seeds and there was a knife and spoon!  I pondered on that a great deal.  In Oklahoma the wild persimmons are small fruit and so bitter it makes your teeth hurt if you should bite into one that is not extremely ripe.  I thought of this as I was painting this little still life!  As noted above, I included the finished product along with the original still life that I painted from although it is very small in the background.  I have more persimmon stories I must share sometime:)  This painting is listed in my Etsy store.  Please visit.

 

Still Life Painting - White Pottery Teapot And Red Strawberries

White Pottery Teapot and Red Strawberries

14x18 Oil on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

 

Exciting strawberries!  Why would an artist be interested in painting strawberries?  Why would a viewer desire to look at them?  Inspiration in some form or another always comes from our senses.  Everytime I buy strawberries I think to myself I will have to paint them before my husband and I eat them up!  The color of bright red brings a delight to my eyes.  The juicy, wet quality (touch sense) and the tangy smell of them causes me to remember their delicious taste.  All of these reasons cause me as an artist to record those sensations with brush and paint in hand onto a support (canvas).

Click red strawberries to go to Etsy.

Tomatoes on a Window Sill - Food Painting

Tomatoes on a Window Sill

11x14 Oil on Canvas

Cheri Wollenberg

Four tomatoes are the subject of this medium sized painting.  Food paintings create a comfortable decor in many kitchens; however, my interest in painting them goes a little beyond kitchen decor.  Every time I have set tomatoes up for a still life composition to paint....the reflections and colors of the fruit have created such visual excitement that I am inspired over and over again.  This painting is listed in my Etsy shop.  Click tomatoes to see more details.

Golden Pears II

Golden Pears II

11x14 Oil on Canvasby

Cheri Wollenberg

(SOLD)

This painting may be purchased by clicking this link:  Golden Pears II

Fresh Strawberries in Blue and White Rice Bowl

Fresh Strawberries in Blue and White

Rice Bowl

by Cheri Wollenberg

This painting (6x6) features strawberries in a blue and white rice bowl. Set before a golden background the composition makes a primary color scheme complete. The strawberries look good enough to eat and they were! This painting may be purchased by visiting my etsy shop: http://www.chatterboxart.etsy.com/.

Three Little Pears

Three Little Pears

6x6 Oil on Stretched Canvas

by Cheri Wollenberg

This painting is a vignette of a larger still life that I set up recently. The three little pears sit perfectly in a saucer against a very dark background. The colors of reds, red oranges, yellow and yellow ochre with greens of the pears are enhanced by the light coming from the right….giving a big chiaroscuro effect on a very small canvas.  This painting may be purchased online at http://www.chatterboxart.etsy.com/.

Watermelon - A Summer Snack

Watermelon - A Summer Snack

by

Cheri Wollenberg

This painting of watermelon was something I’ve wanted to do all summer. In fact I have another one started at the moment that is much larger. Creating the texture, color and form in this small 6x6 format was a pleasant process. My grandson, Cole, ate this piece plus a couple more as soon as I finished.  This painting can be purchased at my etsy website:  http://www.chatterboxart.etsy.com/  

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.

Three Pears with Dramatic Background

Three Dramatic Pears

by Cheri Wollenberg

I have to admit....I'm easily diverted from one subject to the next. My real problem is being constantly inspired by everything!! Certain colors, shapes, compositions (abstract or realistic),patterns everywhere are all sparking my creative juices. I can't keep up, but I'll share some of the things that I am doing. Pears are such sensational fruit to paint. Artists paint them in endless styles. In this particular arrangement I decided to create an dramatic mood. The composition is of three formally balanced pears with an extreme, dark background. They are placed on a black surface and as the light hits them, the yellows of the pears reflect onto one another and onto the surface. The darks of the surface actually refract or reflect back onto the pears throwing orange up on them. So exciting! The format of 6x18 establishes the mood further and it is painted on the sides. It is a simple painting that is very exciting and after the style of early masters. I loved painting them. I'll probably paint them again. If you are interested in purchasing this painting you can follow the link at the bottom of the blog page to my etsy shop.

Strawberries II

I have certainly found out that the discipline of writing (posting) is much harder than the discipline of painting pictures. It has been a while since I posted last; nevertheless, I must say that I am on a roll -- a strawberry roll! Webster's Dictionary describes my "roll" as moving like a ball, as if on wheels. I have been painting strawberries almost daily for a week. Mmmmm, such pleasure, both edible and in creativity. Hope you enjoy the next few days as I have.

Delicious Strawberries