Portrait Study #1 by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Portrait Study #1"

8"x10"

Oil on gessoed board

$80.00

My goal for the next year is to paint 100 portrait studies.  To me they are the most difficult thing to paint and  something I would like to master, so I need to practice, practice, practice.  Here's the first.  

Original Still Life Oil Painting of Old Teddy Bear and Toys

"Bedtime Stories"

Oil on board

10.5"x11"

$100.00

My dad was a story teller.  He could make a story out of anything.  He lived an adventurous and passionate life.  Every night when I was a little girl I went to sleep to the sound of his stories.  At family gatherings, at Christmas one of my grown up joys was staying up late and hearing again the beloved stories that made me. These are my dad's old toys and a piece of the train set that he wanted for Christmas as a little boy.  He couldn't read but he found a box under the bed and copied the letters and had his brother read them.  The letters were 'TRAIN".  He was very happy to know he was getting his train, but found it ruined the joy of surprise.  Thank you Dad and Grandma for my rich heritage and giving me my love of stories.

Original Oil Still Life Painting of Christmas Ornaments

"Finding Christmas"

5"x7"

Oil on gessoed board

$35.00

Original Still Life Original Oil Painting of Sunflowers, Fruit, Books, and Elephant

"Sunflowers and Elephant"

Oil on stretched canvas

16"x20"

$120.00

"Wisdom ceases to be wisdom when it becomes too proud to weep, too grave to laugh, and too selfful to seek other than itself." -  --  Khalil Gibran

Still Life Original Oil Painting of Teapot and Fruit by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Simple Gifts" 

Oil on canvas panel

8"x10"

$80.00

Autumn Teapot and Apple Still Life Oil Painting by Cheryl Ratcliff

Tea and Apples

Oil on Canvas Panel

8"x10"

$80.00

Original Oil Painting Still Life by Cheryl Ratcliff of Pink Flowers, Pears and Nectarines

"The Best of Times"

Oil on Stretched Canvas

16"x20"

$225.00

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Still Life Original Oil Painting of Fruit and Tea Cup by Cheryl Ratcliff

"October Tea"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

6"x6"

$35.00

A Cup of Tea

When the world is all at odds

And the mind is all at sea

Then cease the useless tedium

And brew a cup of tea.

There is magic in its fragrance,

There is solace in its taste;

And the laden moments vanish

Somehow into space.

And the world becomes a lovely thing!

There's beauty as you'll see;

All because you briefly stopped

To brew a cup of tea.

Tea helps our head and heart.

Ted medicates most every part.

Tea rejuvenates the very old.

Tea warms the hands of those who're cold.

(J. Jonker, Amsterdam, c.1670)

Original Oil Still Life Painting of Tea Cup on Yellow by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Tea Cup on Yellow"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

6"x6"

$35.00

Still Life Original Oil Painting of Copper Tea Pot and Apples by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Tea Pot and Apples"

Oil on gessoed board

11"x16"

$140.00

Original Oil Landscape of Lily Pads by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Fernan Lily Pads"

Oil on canvas panel

5"x7"

$35.00

Original Still Life Oil Painting of Peony floral arrangement by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Sweet Summer Peonies"

Oil on gessoed board

11 1/4" X 16"

$140.00

Plein air Landscape of Lake and Lilly Pads by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Summer Morning"

Oil on Board

12"x9"
Sold

Plein air excursion with the Coeur d' Alene Art Association

Original Oil Painting of Lighthouse Seascape by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Finding the Way"

Oil on Board

16"x11"

$120.00

Original Oil Landscape of Lighthouse on a Stormy Day by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Storms"
Oil on board
16"x12"
145.00

Original Floral Oil Painting by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Lilacs on White"
oil
11.5"x16"
$145.00

Original Oil Painting Still Life Painting of Radishes

"Sweetness with a Bite"
Oil on stretched canvas
6"x6"
$35.00

May 12 Remembering My Dad

"Where I Belong"

Oil on Canvas Panel

11"x14"

Dad, I still can't quite believe that you are really gone. I still sometimes hope for a phone call from you, and wish for one more hike or camping trip or late night talk and telling stories and dreaming dreams. I'll always be a little lost and broken without you, but I'll go on living for you. And even though you are not where I am, you are always with me in my heart. I will love little kids, and play games, tell stories and dream. I'll be passionate about loving people and the world, I'll learn to laugh again. I'll climb mountains and find those perfect flower filled meadows....for you. And always I'll be thankful that you are my Dad!!!!!

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.

Matthew 5:3-9

Original Oil Still Life Painting of Mother's Day Boquet of Daffodils

"Mother's Daffodils"
oil
12"x9"
$80.00

Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there, especially my talented, hardworking, intelligent, and capable Mother.

Original Still Life Oil Painting, Simply Apples by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Simply Apples"
oil
10"x8"
$80.00

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.


Naomi Shihab Nye
from The Words Under the Words: Selected Poems

I got this lovely poem from my cousins blog too sense