Beverly Shipko, Artist
  • Paintings
    • Bakery Displays
    • Cakes, Pies & Tarts
    • Vending
    • Cookies, Cupcakes & Ice Cream
    • Additional Desserts
    • Egg-centric
  • Drawings & Prints
  • Art Exhibits
    • Solo
    • Group
    • Photos
  • About the Artist
    • Statement
    • Resume
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
  •  Blog
  • Daily Paintings Challenge
    • January 2015
    • September 2015
    • January 2017
  • Contact

Month: December 2020

Ringing in the New Year!

December 30, 2020 by Beverly

My New Years’ present to myself is to resume work on Choices, an ambitious vending machine painting that I began two years ago. While I was in the middle of it, I had to dismantle my home studio to sell the house and downsize. Then Choices went into storage for an extended period.

Vending Machine Series: Choices, by Beverly Shipko, Acrylic and Oil Painting, 30 x 30 inches, Work-in-Progress

I call this painting ambitious because it has 15 unique logo packages, plus 5 oversize vegetables, and 20 vending rings in it! I’m thinking I must have almost been insane at the time to tackle this painting. However, when I read my old blog, I seem totally rationale and approached the development of Choices very methodically.

From the outside looking in, this 3 x 3 foot painting looks finished, and my neighbors keep telling me it must be almost done. Even my youngest daughter, Bonnie, and artist friend, Linda, thought so.

But it’s not. I mistakenly bought into the party line that it was almost done. I was disappointed.

Here’s what happened.

I decided to paint the top row of chips. Often I find it’s best to work in oils from the top down so I don’t smear the paint below when I brace my hand on the canvas.

Signaling my serious commitment to painting, I put on one of my favorite CDs, Aaron Copland’s inspiring Celebration (yes, I confess I still have quite a CD collection, which is great when the power goes out.)

And I cranked my easel as low as it would go to bring the chips down to eye level. The beauty of a crankable easel is its ability to reach the tallest parts of large paintings without standing on a step stool – which resulted in several mishaps in the past, most recently January. It was the best art purchase I ever made! I would highly recommend making the investment in a easel with a crank by Mabef to all of you painters. (Tip: Find a big sale at an online art supply store.)

Alas, now that the top row of chips are at eye level, I see how rough and sketchy the chips are, especially the graphic Cheetos package. Previously, I had been looking at this painting but not seeing or processing its interim status.

Ok, I was prepared for the chips. But what I wasn’t expecting to find – under direct sunlight – was that the black acrylic background had lots of little white canvas spots peeking through everywhere at an unacceptable level. I shifted gears and spent two days repainting the black acrylic background.

After finishing the background, I had to face the unpleasant fact that the black vending rings are barely sketched in.  My eye saw the rings the way I wanted them to be, rather than how they are. Painted very tentatively and barely there. Fragile. Hardly looking like strong metal vending rings.

Unfortunately,  it had been so long that I didn’t remember if I used acrylic or oils. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, oil-based paint and water-based acrylic don’t mix – like oil and water. Oil paint can go over acrylic, but acrylic can not be painted over oil.

I thought I could tell the medium by feeling the surface since oil has more texture, at least the way I paint.

Since I couldn’t feel much texture, I tried acrylic on the rings. Alas, the paint pooled up and I knew I guessed wrong.

At this point, my assessment is that I’m 60-70% finished. Way lower than I thought before starting.

I knew I had to paint all the rings before I could move onto color. As anyone who has tried to paint ovals and circles knows, capturing these shapes with flowing lines in the right perspective on a slight textured canvas is difficult. Even my hero, Wayne Thiebaud, slips up once in a while. Note the awkward angle of the spiral topped cake.

The rings require the most concentration.

They are such an integral part of the rhythm of composition. The rings have their own reflections, cast their own shadows on the packages, and reflect the colors.  I used to paint them last, but I learned that painting them earlier in the process – in acrylic – results in a more integrated composition. Unfortunately, one slip of the hand often means a major repair job on the oil-based package. After conquering the rings, I’m confident the rest of the painting will come more easily.

Don’t get me wrong, I can handle the rings. But I would much prefer working on paintings with one big ring per canvas as in this ongoing vending series.

Now I don’t have to wonder what I’m going to do this holiday week.

My new goal for rest of New Year’s week is to finish all 20 rings using Ivory Black and Titanium White oil paint, which will be a major accomplishment!

Of course, the rings will need additional touchups once I start applying color. That’s part of the process.

For now, it’s somewhat fitting that painting them is how I’m ringing in the New Year.

We’re coming full circle, and I hope that means much peace, joy and health for you in 2021. Happy New Year!

Posted in: Food, Paintings, Tips for Artists, Uncategorized, Work-in-Progress Tagged: 2021, bevsbites, candy, chips, choices, Happy New Year, Painting, Ringing in the New Year, vegetables, vendingmachine

Bonnie’s Thanksgiving Feast Challenge 2020!

December 17, 2020 by Beverly

I had a fabulous time on Thanksgiving 2020 – despite eating with my kids over Zoom – thanks to Chef Bonnie’s extraordinary culinary and planning skills.

My family and friends were almost afraid to ask about my Thanksgiving since they knew I would be eating alone. But the thing is, I didn’t feel alone at all! It was actually fun! I had plenty of company… starting with our traditional “Let’s Get Stuffed” family mascot… who was soon replaced as you can see here…

My Tablemates – Flat Laura and Flat Bonnie
PLUS their zoom equivalents!

You might be wondering why the chairs say Flat Bonnie and Flat Laura. This was inspired by the Flat Stanley series of books, which Teacher-Chef Bonnie told me about, and Flat Stanley’s worldwide traveling adventures. The concept fit Bonnie’s 2020 Thanksgiving Feast very well since it was a traveling event. FYI. Here’s the official Flat Stanley 50th Anniversary template, if the spirit moves you to make your version.

Bonnie was determined to cook her usual feast, without any compromises – especially when it came to her signature popovers. She willingly undertook the challenge of cooking in her Manhattan galley kitchen and bringing the entire meal to me, with Laura’s help.

There were 4 basic phases to this traveling Thanksgiving event, both in Manhattan and Ardsley, N.Y. 30 minutes north of Manhattan.

  1. Baking on Pie Night
  2. Cooking the feast in Manhattan, which actually started 2 weeks earlier with a few side dishes (soup, cranberry sauce) that were frozen in advance.
  3. Delivering the entire dinner to me in Ardsley, and sampling the desserts (yes, this is backwards, but it’s 2020 and the chef needed her sugar fix)
  4. Driving back to Manhattan, baking more popovers, warming up dinner, and zooming with me. And taking lots of photos along the way!

Now for the details, and the devil is in the details.

Beginning with Phase 1, Bonnie baked the pies on Pie Night, her traditional night before Thanksgiving event, which I told you was happening – but I didn’t have 2020 photos of yet.

Here’s Bonnie in 2020 rolling out one of the pie crusts on the big folding table that functioned as Bonnie’s living room work station, on loan from sister Laura for the big event. And then we can see the fruits of her labor.

Bonnie’s extended kitchen for the day
Pumpkin Cheesecake Fresh Out of The Oven
Cherry Pie Filling on Bonnie’s New Non-Stick Miracle Pan from Our Place
Bonnie putting the finished almond touches on the Cherry Pie

Plus she made a Lattice Apple Pie. Bonnie always did like weaving loop potholders as a kid. Now she’s moved on to bigger and better things!

Phase 2 began on Thanksgiving Day, when Bonnie moved into high gear to cook her signature side dishes like Stuffin Muffins (3 versions this year!), which she had started prepping the night before. It’s a good thing Laura brought over such a big table!

Bonnie made the popovers in 2 shifts, which didn’t hit me until I saw these photos, the first round below being the GF popovers for me in Ardsley. I had just assumed the cooking was finished before they left. Wrong!

Then she got to work on the Stuffed Pears with Goat Cheese and Cranberries..

For the main course, Bonnie made her Lemon Herbed Turkey Breasts, which are amazing leftovers that seems to get more flavorful with age – if that’s even possible!

I’m always impressed by Bonnie’s ability to stuff all these herbs under the skin without ripping it. I don’t know how she does it! I tried it… once….

Usually I’m in the kitchen cleaning up after the chef, but this time I was home watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade (surprisingly good for a pandemic event without spectators!) and reading a book, far removed from all the action.

All day I was salivating at the prospect of getting a home-cooked Thanksgiving Day Feast delivery from Bonnie and Laura.

Finally, after a whole day of cooking, Bonnie shifted into Phase 3 and loaded up her cart full of food, and drove the 30 minutes to Ardsley. Where did all this energy come from? Ah, to be young again!

Finally, they arrived with food in hand!

Here’s she comes!
Bonnie jumping the fence to get to my patio. I always chuckle when she does this.

I introduced the girls to their dinner stand-ins for the first time. Laura conveniently dressed in teal to match Flat Laura and make it feel more real.

Bonnie and Laura meet their doubles.

Bonnie started unloading all my Pyrex containers that she picked up two weeks ago. This time they were full of delectable food! I don’t know how I stopped myself from doing a tasting right then and there.

She arranged everything on my kitchen counter, with the side dishes appearing one by one.

Butternut Squash Soup
Sweet Potatoes Casserole with Pecans
Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Shallots
Roasted Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
Stuffin’ Muffins (Gluten Free Version)
Brussel Sprouts with Grapes
The Lemon Herb Turkey Entree
Homemade Cranberry Sauce
Popovers (Gluten Free Version)
Sour Cheery-Almond Pie recipe from the Food Network Magazine, with a GF pie crust from Danielle Walker.
Pumpkin Pie “Cheesecake” (which I savored for a week afterwards!)
Lattice Apple Pie from Against all Grain (the flakiest crust yet!)
“Here it is, Mom. Happy Thanksgiving!”
Bonnie carefully documenting everything for her Instagram @bonniesbitesoflife
The desserts before they were attacked…

Then Bonnie surprised me by unexpectedly announcing we were sampling the desserts before she and Laura drove back to the city. The chef said she was hungry and couldn’t wait any longer to sample her wares. Besides, it was already 7pm.

Bonnie served all 3 desserts to each of us, and we ate in different corners of the apartment – with the windows and the patio door completely open, fans on to get the air flowing, and the diffuser running with powerful anti-viral essential oils. I am proud to say we were CDC compliant.

While Bonnie was serving, I greedily gobbled my plate up. How’s this for a future painting?

They left me my one-third share of each dessert, which I used as a reward after walking every day the following week.

My hunk of the Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake. Wish I had that now!

Of course, I had to take photos of the partially eaten desserts for future paintings.

You can tell that leftie Bonnie cut this pie.
Here’s my potential composition.

Then the kids packed up the remainder of the desserts for the trek back into the city.

And I waited patiently… sort of…

We’re now into Phase 4, where the kids did a repeat set-up in Bonnie’s apartment. Little did I realize how Bonnie had so thoughtfully choreographed the entire evening. I was given permission to eat the soup while waiting for the formal dinner festivities to start.

The kids set their table with soup at the same time.

Then silliness began.

After the soup course, Bonnie made two more rounds of popovers, one GF for Laura and a gluten pan for herself. FYI. My popovers were GF and dairy free.

Admittedly I was a bit sad that I was missing the real life big reveal, the moment when Bonnie pulled her signature popovers out of the oven – until I saw these epic photos around midnight. Even now looking at this photos, Bonnie’s unbridled popover joy shines through, and I get my warm fuzzies.

At the time, I wouldn’t figure out why I was being asked to wave.

Finally, dinner is served! We were all instructed to load up our dinner plates with each dish.

Bonnie’s dinner plate in Manhattan
My dinner plate in Ardsley

We sampled many of the dishes together, from the pecan sweet potato casserole, to the moist turkey breast with cranberry sauce with just the right amount of tartness (Bonnie has it down to an art), to the second round of desserts.

Bonnie’s Instagram story at @bonniesloo told it all. Here is her summary of the 2020 Thanksgiving Challenge in a nutshell:

And eat together we did – joyfully and gratefully. I am so lucky the girls are both close by.

What I’ll always remember about 2020 is that Bonnie took the Thanksgiving Challenge and excelled on so many levels – the initial idea, the planning, the execution, the humor and the love. So much thoughtfulness and love went into this 2020 Thanksgiving that I felt like we were together the entire time – even though we spent less than 30 minutes in my apartment!

It was the most unique, creative, clever Thanksgiving ever, while maintaining so many of our family traditions. As the same time, we were CDC compliant! I will always remember how happy we were despite the health challenges of the times.

Of course, I’ll end this blog with our Official 2020 Thanksgiving Day Photo.

2020 Thanksgiving Day Challenge Photo

Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this was the best day of 2020.

Thank you, Bonnie, for willingly, lovingly, and so skillfully taking up the 2020 Thanksgiving Challenge!

Posted in: Family, Food, Inspiration, Uncategorized Tagged: #bevsbites #Thanksgivingfeast #cookingartist #food #artofcooking, #Thanksgiving #feast #family #bevsbites

WELCOME

`

This is a website about art, food and life - with dash of art history.

In my blog, I focus on the process of making art in general and creating dessert paintings specifically, while sharing my ongoing quest for new bites of life.

Search

Subscribe to My Blog

Follow Us!

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on TwitterFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Pinterest

FACEBOOK MINIFEED

This message is only visible to admins.
Problem displaying Facebook posts.
Click to show error
Error: No posts available for this Facebook ID

Recent Blog Posts

  • Join us for my Happy Spring “Flowers & Art” Talk!
  • Plan your unforgettable arts weekend with this RiverArts Studio Tour map!
  • You’re invited to Beverly’s Open Studio 2024
  • Take a Byte out of my YouTube Channel – Watch my Bite-Size Food Art Talk
  • Last Chance! 6 more days to see my joyful Bitesize View of Food Exhibit – thru May 22
  • Come Take a Bite With Us at this Exciting Food Art Talk & Show!
  • You’re invited to Beverly’s Open Studio 2023
  • Keith Haring: Is his art really for everybody?
  • I Always Wanted to Be An Art History Professor…
  • Sketching Outside My Comfort Zone

Copyright © 2025 Beverly Shipko, Artist.

Mobile WordPress Theme by themehall.com