Original Oil Still Life of Red Apple and Blue and White Pitcher by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Apple with Blue and White Pitcher"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

6"x6"

Sold

"That best portion of a good man's life--

His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."

William Wordsworth

Original Oil Landscape of Clouds, Mountains and Lake by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Cloudy Day"

Oil on canvas panel

9"x12"

$120.00

This is another painting from my art class. I haven't painted since I took the class and am feeling very rusty. Andrew injured his hand at work and had to have surgery so that took all my time last week.

Original Oil Landscape of Spring Marsh land and Mountains by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Spring Marsh Land"

Oil on canvas panel

9"x12"

$120

Original Oil Landscape of River Reflection and Trees in Spring by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Spring Reflections"

9"x12"

Oil on canvas panel

$120

Leisure

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

William Henry Davies

Original Oil Landscape of Mountains and Marsh in Spring by Cheryl Ratcliff

"Hoping for Spring"

Oil on Canvas Panel

9"x12"

$120.00

I'm taking a wonderful painting class by Patsey Parson's and this is last week's attempt to assimilate lots of information. One of the big pointers I've gotten is to soften hard edges more.

Original Oil Landscape of High Mountains at Twilight with Wildflowers by Cheryl Ratcliff

"High Mountain Twilight"

Oil on gallery wrapped canvas

18"x24"

$280.00

This is another big painting of an earlier study. The thing about painting is that it sometimes seems that the more you know the harder it becomes. There are so many techniques and principles that are important to the success of a painting, color theory, composition, perspective, brushwork, selective rendering, style. It can be daunting with all these swimming around in your head along with ideas of the perfect picture you want to create. The best paintings happen for me when I do some preliminary planning including all this knowledge that I'm trying to absorb, sketches, color planning, value studies, etc., and then go to my canvas free of ideas of perfection and lose myself in the joy of the colors and ideas and places that made me feel like they were worth trying to capture in the first place. Then it seems that even though there might be plenty to critique in my work, it has more life in it than when I'm too absorbed in not making mistakes. Now if only I can learn to live the rest of my life that way...

"The important thing is this, to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become."

Charles De Bos