Three Amish Paintings I am Working on Now

Hello! I am so excited to share these 3 paintings with you that I have started. I can’t wait to complete them!

The amish girl in the barn is almost completed as of now, and I will share in the next 2 days. The other 2 are an Amish girl with a bird on her shoulder, and the other one is walking through a flower field or something. I haven’t decided yet, and this is what makes this so much fun…and challenging too!

I have also started doing some watercolor animals, but one thing I do not like is how the painting with all the white background, has to always be lightened or removed in some way as it comes out muddy or dingy in photos when you try to reproduce. But, alas I will figure that out too!

But here they are and I will try to hurry and get the other two done in a decent amount of time. Thank you!

New Paintings Completed

Hello again. Just wanted to share what I have been working on lately. I’ve been trying some new subjects and trying my hand at watercolors again. I just completed a hummingbird painting, and I really liked the way it came out….I just don’t enjoy painting with watercolors like my pastels. Maybe if I do it enough I will, but it’s a lot of waiting for paint to dry… laying down layer after layer of color …and don’t even think of making a mistake! You are done! Start over! But certain subjects look better in watercolor and this worked out fine.

I also tried painting two Amish Barns in a simplistic style with my pastels.( I want to try this also in acrylics…but I wanted to see if it worked in pastels.) It felt so good to just paint without getting too detailed and perfect. The colors are saturated and I love the contrast of the blues and yellows. That was fun…and I will do more!

As of now, I am still trying to finish up Mary Ellen Walton, but her hat has many little squares of color which is taking forever to figure out! But I wanted to show you what I have completed on her portrait. I wish I had more to show you, but it has just been harder to sit at that desk with all this Russia and Ukraine news. It is very hard to concentrate and stay positive and paint something inspirational when all that is going on, but I’m trying. I pray for Ukraine every night and day. Stay safe all!

Hummingbird Painting

Amish Barn Simplistic Style

Another Amish Barn Simplistic Style

Mary Ellen Walton Still Unfinished

An Amish Watercolor Finished!

Hello!  I finally finished my watercolor of the Amish girl. I am so sorry it took so long, but I was actually afraid to paint this picture, as I know that once watercolor goes on paper, you can’t really correct it.  What you see is basically what you get. I am not used to that at all!  I also am not used to all the layering it takes to get vibrancy in a painting, as when you use pastel, it’s usually vibrant on your first stroke!

Anyway, I was very cautious and did make a few mistakes that I did correct in my own way, but I’ll just leave it at that. I also wasn’t planning on a whole background scene for the girl either.  I was just going to add light colors around her and leave it, but that didn’t happen…as you can see! But I really wanted the focus on her face and I think I achieved that anyway!

Phew!!! Am I glad it’s over…until the next one…”gulp”.

Hope you like it.  Cheryl

Preparing for Christmas On Etsy

Preparing for Christmas on Etsy. Trying my hand at the most popular trend right now…coloring pages for adults ( and/or children) Right now, I am getting a package together of 9 assorted designs. I am also loving creating sock snowmen…and may put a few on there as well. They are so cute! Renewing some older prints and trying to get some new Santas painted. We’ll see how much I can accomplish….

My coloring pages cover

One of my coloring pages

Love my snow couple!

An older pic slightly softened

One of my sock snowmen…this is Jack!

One of my new pictures

Another Amish Painting InThe Works And An Inspirational Quote Watercolor

Hi all!  I am so sorry for not keeping up on this blog lately.  I am now getting ready for my daughter’s graduation from college and I have been busily painting rooms and fixing things around the house like crazy.  It actually feels good to see change,I must say.  And who can beat the look and smell of fresh paint!

Anyway, I just thought I would share with you this painting which has been sitting unfinished like this awhile now. It’s another Amish Girl and she is supposed to be watching a baby chick on her lap.   I really love the face on this little girl and I can’t wait to finish her, but she has to wait just a little bit.  Every time I go into my room she is staring at me and I want so badly to just sit there and get down to business.  I will…I will !

I will post again when I am finished with her.

Here is also another painting I finished.  I have been doing random watercolors just to keep up with my artwork and to put something new in my Etsy shop.  These watercolor paintings are less time consuming than the pastels, so I try to fit a few in before I start  my fixing and painting of the house. This one is in watercolors and it’s a little girl looking out over the mountains under a beautiful rainbow. Inspired by the very thing I love to do, observe nature!  I hope you like them. Be back soon!

Unfinished Amish Girl Painting

Artisan Breads, A New Pastel Painting and Little Girl With Flowers print

I Wanted to try something a little different than my portraits I usually do, and I always loved farm signs, food signs etc.(like the bread canvas art you see in bakeries) and so I decide to try one for myself.  I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. Actually, it makes me want to make a loaf of bread and EAT it, but that’s besides the point. Of course, now I want to create more food signs.  Next one I’m trying…peach and apple signs!

Also, I just wanted to try some simple watercolor wash images country oriented…little girls/children wandering in meadows,enjoying happy things like rainbows etc.  This is my most recent attempt and I think she looks sweet.  Oh well…back to the drawing board.  Please feel free to let me know what you think.

Dog Angels, Paintings for Pet Loss

Hello!  I just wanted to share with you a new idea I have been trying for friends that have lost their pets.  I have taken a picture of their pet as a reference and painted them with wings and paired them with angels.  I do this so that it is a reminder to the owner that their pet is in a better place.

When I lost my dog, Max, I went searching for that perfect gift out in the stores to bring back home with me something that would comfort me or know that Max was in heaven, but I never really found anything.  There were a lot of rainbow bridges plaques and doggie ornaments with wings and halo, but it wasn’t my Max. I settled for a miniature pinscher ornament and shelf sitter, but still felt untouched.  I would have loved a painting  of my own Dog with an angel in the heavens!

And so, when my friends lost their dogs, I painted their images and made it look like they were welcomed to their “new home” in heaven and they would be safe and waiting for them when it was time.  Just seeing their faces when I gave them the paintings was enough. It was the best feeling.  I hope you like these two paintings, one is in watercolors and the other in pastels.  Both are inspiring.  If you are interested in having one done for you or someone you know, please e-mail me at mcprop@cox.net, and we can discuss it further.  Thanks and have a good day!

angel with Max, a golden Lab in Pastels

angel with Lucky, a springer spaniel in watercolors

Finished Pastel Painting of My Dog Max

Yes, I finally finished Max’s picture, and when I was done…I felt a little sad.  It felt like I could actually touch him…and his eyes are just how I remember them…like looking into your soul.

So here he is, and hope you like him.  If you would like me to do a pastel portrait of “your” pet or someone you know,  please e-mail me and I can give you all the info on price and  to what I would need  as a picture to use as a reference.  They make great gifts for people for Christmas, especially if you don’t know what to get for someone, and the portraits last a lifetime! My e-mail is mcprop@cox.net if you have any questions. You may also go to my portfolio site at http://www.cherylmcnulty.com, where I have samples of portraits I have done with the originals to compare.  Any design you see on this site can be made into a card, print, canvas print or whatever. I just take a design and send it through Zazzle, and make anything…so just ask and I will see what I can do.

I am also just starting to do watercolor pictures of angels with cats/dogs/pets,  for those who have passed away.   They can be comforting to the owners, I think.  I can take the picture of the pet with added wings and paint it to look just like the pet with an angel.  I will put up a picture of one asap.  Thank you and hope you like my Max!  He’s on my wall right now! 🙂

A Picture ReDo

I think sometimes it pays to look back on your artwork and really look at it.  If you’re not happy with a piece after it’s all completed, sometimes it’s good to set it down and wait awhile and really look at it and see if it could be improved in some way.  Maybe make the colors more saturated, try another media to see if it works a little better with the picture itself.  Whatever.

Well, that’s what happened here.  I love pastels, but I tried rendering an old watercolor picture of Santa singing with his reindeer (originally designed for my husband’s Christmas birthday)  with pastels.  I never really was happy with it.  Pastels work lovely on portraits, but when I have a lot of detail work in a picture, it just doesn’t cut it.  I can’t work in the tiny details, and it looks like there is no “punch” factor….it just sort of sits there, almost like a bad copy of a picture.

See for yourself here as I have attached the original pastel and the new watercolor.  I think I will take the watercolor.  It’s so vibrant and I can see all the detail work.  This is also what the art licensing companies look for, vibrancy.  So that’s what I am doing now.  Taking my portfolio and re doing all the old pics that just “sort of sit there”.  Hope you like this new one!  Enjoy!

Two more Scarecrows…and a Santa

Here are two more scarecrows to continue the Friendly Scarecrow series.  I really like the one where he is jumping in the leaves!

I had sent my online art portfolio to Porterfield’s Fine Art and the president of the company sent me back some encouraging words within 10 minutes of sending it to them.  He suggested I try acrylics for more color saturation as art licensing companies look for saturated color. He said he could not use my art this point in time. but it was “Awfully good”.  I’ll take it!  Usually you get nothing back but a rejection letter.  This was nice.

He did like my scarecrow and my santa holding a present, which explains the reason for all the scarecrows.  The more the better!  Hope you like them.