Category: Paintings

Miniature /

Forbidden, 6×6, oil & mixed media

Christine White Art - Forbidden, 6x6, oil and mixed media on wood

This piece made its debut at the 2024 National Orange Show. It dovetails with a larger, more formal piece called “Citrus Paradisi“, because we cannot have a citrus-themed show without including the invasive fruit flies that have ravaged Southern California this year.

Redlands was in a fruit quarantine zone where many residents had their fruit picked and destroyed by the county. A small price for slowing the spread of an invasive fly that cripples crops statewide, but still traumatic for locals who love their trees and may not have directly seen the fly on their properties.

The perspective of the piece is that we are within a glass cell with several of the flies. They walk on the window, looking through it to a citrus tree beyond. The flies are made with upcycled plastic, old guitar strings, glue, and acrylic paint. Although a threat in real life, they are quite charismatic as miniature sculptures on this work.

Pricing Information: $250

Miniature /

Free Delivery, 6×6, oil

Christine White Art - Free Delivery, 6x6, oil on wood & upcycled paper

Do we unconsciously – or consciously – have a philosophy of karma? That those who do good get good, and those who do not will get theirs in the end? I wrote the poem that is integrated into this piece. The fast, free delivery of our modern online shopping experience was an appropriate support for this story. Thus the piece mixes an upcycled shipping label with a fine art oil painting. If you look closely, you see that the earth and sun are also gumballs in the mix.

Pricing Information: $200

Medium Scale /

Citrus Paradisi – Clarity, 20×16, oil

Christine White Art - Citrus Paradisi - Clarity, 20x16, oil on wood

National Orange Show Winner 2024: 2nd Place, Citrus Category

There were three guiding principles in creating this painting. First, that my love for this particular tree would be apparent in every brush stroke. Second, that the piece be a true study in edges, with sharp and soft edges leading the viewer through the piece. And third, that it would adhere to our local Spring light schema, conveying a subtle warmth in the daytime air laden with the smell of blossoms.

I was surprised that painting hundreds of leaves was not onerous. They each had a personality, tone, tilt, and softness or sharpness of edge. Understanding the architecture of the leaves was key. Painting the grapefruit – “citrus paradisi” in Latin – at the end was an exercise in restraint. Instead of making the fruit the subject, I wanted to trick the eye to look past it and into the blossoms just beyond.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable piece to create. I’m honored it was awarded in the Orange Show.

Price: $1900

Medium Scale /

LaQuats, Pure, oil & mixed media, 10.5×16.5

Original Painting by Christine White Art, Paint Harmonic, titled, "LaQuats, Pure", oil on paperboard, photography & acrylic, 10.5x16.5 inches

This and its corresponding piece “LaQuats, Innocent!” are the first of a series where I use repurposed paperboard as a base and creative conversation. In this case, the base is a LaCroix sparkling water box, adhered to a canvas that has my original photography of our loquat tree. On the cardboard part, a separate part of the same tree is painted in oil.

The word “Pure” appears many times on this box, because there is no added flavoring in this instance. It feels appropriate for a nature painting because in my mind, nature always feels “pure”. This is true even when I consider the dirt in which a seed grows, the bugs that live on the trunk and leaves, and the birds who roost and leave their droppings among the branches. Still, somehow nature feels more pure than our own tidy dwellings and organized lives.

This piece has finished, gallery wrapped sides and thus is ready to hang without a frame.

Price: $300

Medium Scale /

LaQuats, Innocent!, oil & mixed media, 10.5×16.5

Original Painting by Christine White Art, Paint Harmonic, titled, "LaQuats, Innocent!", oil on paperboard, photography & acrylic, 10.5x16.5 inches

This and its corresponding piece “LaQuats, Pure” are the first of a series where I use repurposed paperboard as a base and creative conversation. In this case, the base is a LaCroix sparkling water box, adhered to a canvas that has my original photography of our loquat tree. On the cardboard part, a separate part of the same tree is painted in oil.

An interesting thing about the original LaCroix box is how many times the word “innocent!” appears (with the exclamation). It makes me smile, because I truly wonder how many people feel not-innocent when drinking bubbly water?

This piece has finished, gallery wrapped sides and thus is ready to hang without a frame.

Price: $300

Miniature /

Sold – Forecast: Sunny, 10×8, oil on panel

Forecast Sunny, 8x10, oil on panel, Christine White

A simple sunflower painting. In the tradition of so many painters before, I was inspired by the fortitude, generosity, and happiness that sunflowers embody. Two flowers here, signifying friendship. Lush yellow paint contrasts with the quiet dark centers. The sky has a subtle gradient, as the day has reached that not-yet-dusk but late afternoon stage. Peace, warmth, contentment.

mask /

Vanishing Tracks, handmade paper mache mask

Vanishing Tracks, Handmade Paper Mache Mask, Christine White

Snow leopards have been my favorite animal since I was nine years old. The book “Vanishing Tracks” by Darla Hillard had just come out then. I was captivated by the story, the beauty of these cats, and what Darla conveyed about their elusive lives.

Years later I got to meet snow leopards in real life at a big cat conservation facility. A dream come true. They were just as majestic as I had imagined.

This mask is about a love for cats, big and small, and a respect for wild animals whose world we touch through sprawl, industrialization, and environment decisions. Not getting preachy here – its just a paper mache mask – but I do feel a sobering, solemn spirit when I wear this one.

The mask is handcrafted from scratch, using paper mache, upcycled cardboard, plastic, and guitar strings for the whiskers. It is painted first with acrylic and then with oil paint. You can see through the eyes (the holes are in the pupils), and breathe through the leopard’s nostrils.

All solemnity aside, I love making masks and want to make custom ones for people. Is there an animal that has been meaningful to you? Let’s dream up a gorgeous mask that embodies their spirit.

mask /

Goblin, handmade paper mache mask

Goblin, Handmade Paper Mache Mask, Christine White

I really want to make masks for music videos or masquerade parties. Creating an original design that is absolutely transformed by the person wearing the art is mutually rewarding! The mask gives permission to take on a new persona; the wearer brings their own personality and energy to the costume. Every combination of mask and wearer is unique, and its a joy to see the masks come alive.

This is one of my favorite masks. Although it looks a little scary, every time it is worn the person is transformed and has a unique look. It blows my mind; its the same mask, but worlds different from person to person.

Inspired by watching Jim Henson’s “The Labyrinth” at least 300 times growing up, this mask invokes a curious, good-natured rabble-rousing spirit. It is 100% hand crafted with paper mache, upcycled wire, upcycled plastic, and painted with acrylic and oil paint.

If you’d like to commission a custom mask for any occasion, contact me and let’s dream up an amazing one!

mask /

Felix, handmade paper mache mask

Felix, Handmade Paper Mache Mask, Christine White

My grandmother had a siamese cat named Felix. He was with her for 18 years, and part of every visit we made to her home. Masks are a way to become someone else – another creature in this case, catlike, mysterious, and playful. The mask is 100% handmade by me, built from layers of paper mache, finished with oil paint and then varnished. It has a tie ribbon and is ready to be worn, or displayed as a sculpture in its own right.

Pricing Information: $90 USD

Miniature /

Duskwalker, 8×8, reverse paint on glass

Duskwalker, 8x8, reverse paint on glass, Christine White

Painting on glass is magic – the colors applied up on the reverse side give a vibrant effect multiplied by the prism separating the paint from the viewer. This piece experiments further, leveraging crushed eggshells in the bottom half and gold paint, giving a marbled gemstone effect. A sphinx moth, native to Southern California, stalks across the top. We saw this fella one night while going on a walk, the moth was safe on the side of the walkway, and felt like a good omen.

Pricing Information: $200 USD

Miniature /

Sold – Shadows, 3.75×2.5, oil on canvas

Shadows, 3.75x2.5, oil on canvas, Christine White

This is one of the smallest pieces I have ever painted – and one of my favorites. The brushstrokes are delicate and expressive, and the two koi fish playfully interact with the shadowy water surface. The piece is thematically related to larger koi-and-reflection paintings I’ve made, but in a small format that is easy to fit in any space.

Miniature /

Sold – Nettle Unboxed, 9.25×4, oil on paperboard

Nettle Unboxed, 9.25x4, oil on upcycled paperboard, Christine White

A shimmery blue background is the perfect complement to the vivid warm colors and textures of this sea nettle jellyfish piece. Painted on an upcycled cardboard box, it is sturdy and a statement that repurposed surfaces can function as well as a fancy canvas. Gold paint creates a glimmering illusion of actual movement on this piece.

Medium Scale /

Sea Nettle, Gas & Metal, 27×12, oil on paperboard

Sea Nettle, Gas & Metal, 27x12, oil on upcycled paperboard, Christine White

Painting on unconventional surfaces has always been interesting to me, and upcycling is important to my life philosophy and artistic practice. This lively, lush painting of sea nettle jellyfish is presented on a box that once housed a metal gas can. The composition featuring the two jellyfish leverages image components and catchphrases printed on the original box. The bottom and top edges of the box are left raw, exposing the corrugated cardboard.

Miniature /

Estuary – Morro Bay, 8×8, oil on panel

Estuary - Morro Bay, 8x8, oil on panel, Christine White

A gorgeous sunny afternoon with clouds dancing overhead, painting from the marshy shore in Morro Bay. Watching the ducks and egrets alight and take off was as much a joy as painting this scene.

Pricing Information: $175

Miniature /

Sold – Moods – Morro Bay, 8×8, oil on panel

Moods - Morro Bay, 8x8, oil on panel, Christine White

An overcast morning, painting in a beautiful place. This is one of the moods of Morro Bay, and this piece was painting onsite. Conveying the essence of the boats, the gray sky, the autumn-browned grass. You can feel the moisture in the air.

Paintings /

Black Rock Visitor, 24×12, oil

Black Rock Visitor, 24x12, oil on panel, Christine White Art

Its a dusk April evening near Black Rock Campground, and the last rays of the sun cutting over the distant hills to light a blooming Joshua Tree. Tiny flowers reach up through the native plants and grasses. And a visitor, a large raven, pokes through the Joshua Tree bloom flowers, searching for insects to eat.

Featuring a smooth sky contrasting rich texture in the landscape, the love for Joshua Tree National Park is visible in each stroke of paint.

Pricing Information: $975 USD

Paintings /

SOLD – Promise, 14×18, oil

Christine White, Paint Harmonic - "Promise", 14x18, oil on panel

It is 6 AM and the air is cool and fresh. As the sun begins to bring a warm tinge to the blue night sky, everything is quiet save for the bees and occasional hummingbird visiting this tree.

This piece was started from a live painting session with my favorite fruit tree, a glorious grapefruit that yields delicious pink fruit in January. By April, its already blossoming and preparing for the next round.

Featuring delicate blossoms and layers of backlit and skylit leaves, this piece is painted on a wood panel with a 1-inch finished wooden edge. Thus, you can choose to hang it with or without a frame.

Pricing Information: $800 USD

Large Scale /

Desert Birds, 18×14, oil

Christine White, Paint Harmonic - "Desert Birds", 18x14, oil on panel

The glowing dawn over distant hills chases the remaining stars, and reveals a mature Bird of Paradise plant on the edge of a mysterious pond. The pond reflects not the blooms and leaves of the plant, but instead wind mills. Growing from the plain like giant metallic flowers, they are mesmerizing in the morning light.

The Bird of Paradise was painted from life, and the wind mills are inspired by the wind farms along I-10 on the way out to Palm Springs. Smooth layers in the water contrast with expressive and careful brushwork in the plant. This piece has a sense of peace, despite the slightly surreal visual puzzle it presents.

Pricing Information: $650 USD

Large Scale /

Fire Mountain, 42×36, reverse paint on glass

Christine White - Paint Harmonic, Fire Mountain, 36x31, reverse paint on glass

This piece alludes to the cycles, mystery, and destruction of fire. To see our mountains on fire in this region is unfortunately not a rare occurrence.

Even though the topic can be somber, I truly love this piece. I love its colors and patterns. This piece has a lot of who I am in it – cycles and mystery too.

It is also one of few reverse paintings on glass that use a unique, painstaking multistage acrylic process to create its texture. This piece should be displayed with light shining on it, not through it, even though it is painted on a repurposed window. The light will then catch the textures in the acrylic layers, and they will shimmer.

Pricing Information: $2900

Large Scale /

Inland Empire Light, 36×36, oil

Christine White - Paint Harmonic, IE Light, 36x36, acrylic and oil

This piece and its sister painting (“Inland Empire Night”) have lively movement in the background, and catch a general spirit of movement as they were begun in live music settings. Finishing work in my studio took care to not lose the initial energy of painting around music and sound.

Pricing Information: $1500