Inspiration | Beverly Shipko, Artist

The Art of Food

November 30, 2014 by Beverly

I found an intriguing blog post showing a salad plate arrangement (on the right) that was inspired by Wassily Kandinsky’s Painting 201 (on the left). This is certainly a unique take on life imitating art!

I wish my Thanksgiving plate had looked this artistic. But then maybe I wouldn’t have wanted to eat it….!

You can take a closer look here. Research showed that a Kandinsky-inspired salad was not only rated as tasting much better, but restaurant diners were willing to pay twice as much for it than a traditionally arranged salad using the same ingredients!

Future chefs and restauranteurs, take note!

Inside Out: Frank Gehry’s Strata Center

November 3, 2014 by Beverly

Every once in a while everyone needs to get out of their comfort zone.

That’s why I look forward to working on my bi-monthly Art Card. It’s an opportunity to open myself up, to experiment with and explore different subjects and art forms. My artist friend Liz De Betheune and I run an Art Card Group, initially started by Mia and Annie (two of Liz’s sisters), with 18 artist members who create original postcard-size art based on an assigned theme, and exchange cards with other members. The latest theme was Positive/Negative.

Ever since Liz and I selected the theme, I kept thinking about Frank Gehry and the Strata Center at MIT. After finally revisiting my Cambridge photos from June, I realized that a key design element that dazzles me is Gehry’s masterful use of 3-D positive and negative space to energize buildings in surprising ways, both in the exterior and interior.

Frank Gehry is a prize winning contemporary architectect who literally turned modern architecture on its ear by removing right angles and straight lines from his architectural vocabulary, and introducing new, innovative materials with contrasting surfaces such as corrugated steel and shiny metal. Gehry designed the Guggenheim Museum Bilboa in Spain, his most renowned work that has become a major tourist destination in its own right – and is certainly on my bucket list.

While I had seen several Gehry complexes before, such as Gehry’s home in Venice, CA, the IAC Building off the West Side Highway in the Chelsea district of Manhattan, and the newer and expansive Millennium Park Pavillion in Chicago, I had never been as captivated by them as much as by the Strata Center. This huge innovative complex takes up 750,000 square feet, and is both an inspiration and counterpoint for the heavy-duty scientific research that goes on inside its walls (unlike any other walls I have seen, that’s for sure!) – an ever-present reminder to think outside the box.

From the street, the outside of the Strata Center looks like a series of unexpected moving shapes and unique structures that is strung together temporarily, deconstructing traditional norms along the way. A plethora of materials greet you. Textured brick surfaces mingle with polished metal creating pulsing forms of contrasting colors and shadows.

Fortunately, for the first time, I was able to go inside a Gehry building, where my senses were initially overwhelmed by the dynamic design of interior space – a positive and awe inspiring thing in this instance. Vibrating space pushed and pulled, turned and twisted, contracted and expanded. Walking on the higher floors was somewhat challenging and disorienting initially as the walkways whooshed around. Unlike most buildings, I could see where I wanted to go, but couldn’t get there.

The unexpected use of strong color on the inside increased the feeling of drama. In the hour that I had, I was only able to walk around a small part of the complex. Next time I’ll wander around the roof, a concept that Gehry essentially redefined.

I thought it was interesting that Bill Gates sponsored one of the Strata Center towers, and that Mark Zuckerberg chose Frank Gehry to design the new Facebook headquarters. What a bold and exciting statement! And how appropriate that the tech world is not just content with revolutionizing our social experience, but is now turning our brick and mortar world inside out too. Hopefully, I’ll have a chance tour the new Facebook headquarters when it opens in 2015.

Ultimately, I decided to work with my Gehry Strata Center photos for this my art card contribution. I started by assembling a composite of several interior shots in a folding rectangular format, a rather traditional concept in the end.

By eliminating the mental restriction of a rectangular shaped card, the idea felt more like Gehry in spirit. So I created a second card.

The card has an element of surprise by unfolding into something much larger (over a foot long) and unexpected, mimicking my experience with the Strata Center on a micro level. I was happy with my Positive/Negative contribution and mailed both of them in the end.

Thanks to the Art Card Group for keeping me from being too complacent, and encouraging me to explore new paths and grow as an artist. One day I’ll even buy Photoshop and really move out of my comfort zone!

My Hero

October 6, 2014 by Beverly

“Dear Mr. Thiebaud,

I am an artist who has painted desserts for a decade, and have tried to meet you when you visited New York. Unfortunately, the weather intervened. First, there was a major storm when you were scheduled to speak at the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, NY many years ago. Most recently, Hurricane Sandy walloped New York right before your planned talk at Acquavella Galleries.

My husband and I will be coming to the San Francisco area the first week in June, and we would like to meet you and visit your studio in Sacramento at your convenience.”

Unfortunately, my visit to Wayne Thiebaud’s studio this past summer never materialized. At age 93, Mr. Thiebaud is still a rather private person, despite being a famous award winning artist with iconic rock star status in the art world, especially among Pop Art lovers. However, his unique style actually defies any specific label.

In late May, my request was graciously turned down during a lively phone call from Kelly Purcell, the Director of the Paul Thiebaud Gallery, who called at the request of Mr. Thiebaud himself. Kelly and I chatted for a while about Mr. Thiebaud and my art, how he motivated me to try new things in my own work, which was positively received. We spoke about my upcoming trip to San Francisco, and she gave me many tips on where to go to experience the local art scene. Kelly made sure to tell me about Mr. Thiebaud’s upcoming show in New York at Acquavella Galleries in October, but mentioned that he would not be attending the opening.

Although I was excited to get a response from someone so close to Wayne Thiebaud and thought it was a very considerate, a part of me was disappointed when I had to fill the hole in our itinerary which I had left open for a trip to Sacramento. Although this was frustrating, I had to respect his wishes. Deep down, I knew that I would have done the same thing if I had been in his shoes. And trust me, there’s a point in telling you all of this.

My whole attitude changed Tuesday night when I went to the opening of the Wayne Thiebaud Show at Acquavella Galleries (18 East 79th Street) in New York City, even if the artist wouldn’t be there. So my husband Jay and I left late, taking our time getting down to the city and into the gallery.

We slowly toured the four large rooms on two floors trying to savor every work before closing. I naturally gravitated toward the food paintings, especially the desserts. I was mesmerized by this painting, with its stark white display case depicted with bold, assertive horizontal strokes, contrasting dramatically with the vibrantly colored circular cake shapes. I admired how Thiebaud revels in the application of thick paint on these cakes, as if he were icing them in his kitchen.

Sometimes the voluminous paint itself seems to be the subject, as in this work. The poetry is in the paint, with the white icing on the left dessert protruding a 1/4 inch or more from the canvas. I wondered how long it took to dry.

Let’s not forget the humble hunks of cheese that feel monumental in this small painting, and yet seem magically abstract. (Much has been written about the influence of still life painter Antonio Morandi on Thiebaud, and I could feel it here for the first time.)

Since I associate Thiebaud more with food and San Francisco landscapes, I was unexpectedly struck by the range of insightful and powerful portraits in the show, staring right at you with their vivid colors and dynamic brushwork. Jay couldn’t resist showing us his take on this Thiebaud portrait of an art historian intently examining a painting.

I was so enthralled that I never even thought to ask if Wayne Thiebaud was at the opening.

At 7:50pm, 10 minutes before closing, Jay and I went back through the galleries taking more photos. There we met Clay, an outgoing guy who introduced himself as a friend of Thiebaud’s from Sacramento, who told us Thiebaud had recently modified this painting called “Flood Waters” by adding the bridge going across the water (which explained the catalog date of 2006/2013). Clay was kind enough to offer to take this photo of the two of us in front of this dramatic birds-eye view landscape that is so typical of Thiebaud.

When I mentioned to Clay that I was writing a blog, he asked for my website, commenting that Wayne Thiebaud had just gotten an iPad. Before I knew it, I was standing next to my hero having my picture taken with him.

In the brief time that I spent with him, I got a feeling of quiet strength, humility and integrity emanating from Wayne Thiebaud and saw signs of a gentle sense of humor. I finally got to tell him how much I admired his work and had followed his career. As Thiebaud shook my hand (with a very firm handshake), he told me that was what he liked to hear – with an amused twinkle in his eye, almost like a wink. He was the kind of person I would have enjoyed spending an afternoon with, both as a student and as a friend listening to stories of his remarkable life and career.

When Clay first introduced us, I found myself almost speechless and in shock. Now that I have had a little time to reflect, I have gathered my thoughts together in a letter.

Dear Mr. Thiebaud,

If I’m really lucky, you’ll be reading this blog post on your new iPad and seeing a few things I wanted to say in person, but didn’t. Most of all, I want to thank you for being such an inspiration to me for so many years.

The simple power of your work and focus on the everyday world speaks directly to me, always bringing a smile to my face. I feel like we are kindred spirits on some level in the way we experience the world, and what we choose to paint – which is why I treasure the moments I spend looking through copies of your sketchbooks. And it was truly an honor to be included in two group shows featuring sweets with you.

Your flair for turning mundane objects into dramatic compositions, your fearless use of bold color, light & shadows, and the magic in your distinctive application of paint has certainly influenced my own approach to making art. I believe I am a better artist because of you. It was a pleasure to finally meet you.

The Sheer Joy of “Just Desserts”

October 5, 2014 by Beverly

I recently rediscovered a part of myself when I gave my “Just Desserts” painting demonstration and art marketing talk to the Scarsdale Art Association.

The experience of speaking about art was so much fun that it took me back to my life as an Art History Teaching Fellow at the University of Michigan. I loved it then, and as I found out, I love it now.

The difference was that this time I was speaking from an artist’s perspective, rather than an artist historian. This was a major shift as I found out years ago from many art students in my art history class, who groaned loudly every time I began talking about any topic from ancient to medieval art.

My original plan had been to be an artist and to support myself as an art history professor. That was before a depression hit Detroit in the 70s and art funding dried up, so I went back to the drawing board to sketch out a new marketing career. With this lecture, I came full circle.

The challenging part of this particular presentation was the painting demonstration, which meant I had to talk and paint at the same time (think of President Gerry Ford, also from Michigan, who reportedly found it hard to walk and chew gum at the same time…).

Since I usually paint while listening to classical music by my favorite composer Aaron Copland, it took some adjustment to painting while answering many thought provoking questions from an enthusiastic audience. I was up to the challenge and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

For all you artists out there looking to exhibit and sell your work, I offered up a few art marketing tips – definitely a subject for a separate blog post. For now, the best advice I can give would be to start by picking something you love as your subject, with a personal story behind it that is easily communicated, and focus on getting a cohesive body of work together that is linked visually or conceptually before going to galleries or other organizations. Becoming an expert in that area and developing a niche that is distinctive and memorable is a good thing.

And how did the afternoon end? With desserts, of course.

Thank you to the Scarsdale Art Association for inviting me to speak on “Just Desserts” (and for helping me revisit the Fountain of Youth for one afternoon). Thanks to everyone who came out and supported this event, and to Jackie Lupo of the Rivertowns Enterprise for this terrific article.

I got a kick out of the first line: “Breaking into the art gallery world is no piece of cake.” So true.

In the future, I want to pursue lecturing about art, and capturing the joy that goes into it. I hope to see you all again soon at my next talk – wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Facebook Murals

August 10, 2014 by Beverly

As artists, don’t we all have dreams of striking it rich by painting masterpieces that become famous and are auctioned off at astronomical prices? Artist David Choe actually lived this rags to riches story when Facebook went public in 2012. In 2005, David painted graffifi-style murals at Facebook’s first headquarters in Palo Alto, CA, although he is infamously quoted as saying the idea of FB is “ridiculous and pointless.” Rather than taking cash, he took payment in shares which are reportedly worth $200 million. Smart guy!

Our recent tour of San Francisco’s treasure trove of murals set the stage for our private tour of the current Facebook Headquarters in Menlo Park, where I got to see David Choe’s past and present murals first hand. While the complex includes over 20 buildings, we went into just a fraction of them in two hours. I was told that an art tour of just FB murals would take more than a day. When you walk into the main lobby, this huge, imaginative, quirky, celebratory and just plain fun David Choe mural greets you.

Here’s another view since my camera lacks a wide angle lens to capture the entire wall in one shot.

On the back wall, we found this one which inspired my fish bump with a friend.

I found David’s signature in the corner near this creature reminiscent of something out of Monsters, Inc.

The tour guide reported that this more conservative creature wearing a tie was started by Mark Zuckerberg himself, beginning with the head, and was finished by David.

Of course, a Facebook mural tour wouldn’t be complete without an official Facebook Wall. Here we are with our host for the day, Jay’s bridge partner, Ed.

While everyone else was eating ice cream at the Sweet Stop (one of many retail restaurants on the fb campus), the tour guide took Jay and I to see the original David Choe murals I had asked about earlier. I was surprised to find two relatively small, vertical panels depicting a face that had been removed from its original FB walls. According to Choe, “They cut the walls out of all my paintings and sent them to Facebook offices around the world.” He called himself the “most highest-paid decorator alive.” These two works were completely different from anything I expected after experiencing the lobby murals, but then these panels were executed in 2005 and taken from their original site. As you all know, artists evolve and their style changes – a fact that somehow escaped me that day.

After seeing the second set of Choe panels, I wondered what would come next, and FB did not disappoint. It was this mural, known as the Facebook Zipper, which certainly popped from a distance as we entered another gigantic warehouse-like space. It is really a terrific illusion, isn’t it?

FB didn’t stop with painted murals. Say hello to this Lego mural and go back in time to your childhood.

Following our trip to Legoland, we came across something quite different and peaceful. I got a kick out of this mural for a number of reasons: the whimsical subject of two painters plying their craft on each other, the soft drip technique that made me want to try it, and the dramatically contrasting colors.

Then I found this mural near the office of Sheryl Sandberg (FB Chief Operating Officer since 2008), whose 2012 book “Lean In” was intended to help professional women advance their careers. I wonder whether her kids had anything to do with this one, and what this will be worth someday….

Just a random mural at least partially painted with a spray can.

I was gratified to see that Facebook is making a commitment to supporting and mentoring young artists – as well as geeks. We toured the print shop, which is home to a group of upcoming residential artists.

Here is some of their handiwork.

Thankfully these souvenir posters from the shop made the trip home safely.

Finally we returned to where we started, with Facebook goody bags in hand, feeling a bit like celebrities receiving their gift bags at the Oscars. Well, not quite since they included shirts, caps, and flash drives instead of luxury items.

Words can’t describe the rush we experienced on the FB tour of a facility packed with creative, dynamic murals and permeated by a mindset of endless possibilities. But I think this sign does the trick!

The FB motto on this mirror in the Sweet Stop Cafe sums it up more eloquently than I ever could.

Just in case you are struggling to read this – it says Livin’ the Dream.

San Francisco 16st Avenue Tiled Steps Project

August 4, 2014 by Beverly

After spending a successful afternoon looking at San Francisco murals, our public art tour continued the next day with a visit to the San Francisco 16^th Avenue Tiled Steps Project (at Moraga and 16^th Street). My husband, Jay, and I wandered around numerous winding roads looking for vibrant mosaics when we arrived at this bland-looking set of stairs on an overcast day, and began to wonder why this was even on our sightseeing list.

Since we were there, we decided to drive around to the bottom of the steps, and found a plaque commemorating the completion of this project – and got our first glimpse of what was to come.

We learned the 163 step mosaic project was initiated as a community effort by the Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association in 2003, and supported by a number of private and public groups and contractors, from the Mayor’s Beautification Fund to the Union Bank of California. With the help of KZ Tile, who generously agreed to set the finished tiles into the steps, this group project was completed by the team in 2005.

Over 300 neighbors worked on this project in some capacity, with 220 neighbors sponsoring hand-made tiles of fish, animals, and birds imprinted with their names. The swirling patterns of vibrant blue strewn with aquatic life were an exciting surprise – so different from anything else I had ever seen. The way the individual steps fit together with such precision when seen from the bottom was nothing less than spectacular craftsmanship!

In this series of steps, patron names are inscribed in many of the fish.

As you walk up the steps, the energy shifts into a quieter design which made me think of a distant shoreline.

The colors became more intense and brilliant as we passed through a flower garden of custom shaped tiles. You can see more names, like those inscribed in the flower petals on the left of the bottom step.

Here’s a closeup of a tile with two squirrels munching away, sponsored by a couple.

I was mesmerized by the grand scope and vision of the project, the strong visual impact of the shifting perspectives as you make your way up the steps, and the surprisingly personal nature of this piece of public art. I found myself reading the inscriptions and hypothesizing what the patrons were like, based on their choice of tiles. Here names appear on the plants (maybe vegetarians with luscious gardens), animals (families with pets like the turtle), and birds (people with birdhouses in their backyard)

As we made our way up higher, the viewpoint shifted again so we were walking into a flowing stream of blue water cascading down the steps.

The variety of flowing blue colors and a myriad of marine life transported us to a delightful aquatic world.

Walking up the 16^th Avenue Tiled Step Project – obviously a labor of love – is a unique outdoor experience that fits in with the quirky character of SF Bay Area. It felt monumental, like a modern day version of ancient Roman mosaics from Pompeii.

Good thing we stuck around and explored!

San Francisco Mural Tour

July 14, 2014 by Beverly

I have a new appreciation for public mural art after a recent vacation in the San Francisco Bay Area – a blend of everything from folk art to graffiti seen from multi-cultural viewpoints.While my husband, Jay, and I visited a number of museums, some of the most dynamic and unexpectedly powerfully art was outside!

Our self-led mural tour started the first day at Coit Tower with its recently restored indoor frescos by 27 on-site artists dedicated to equality for all. While waiting in the elevator line, we got a good look at these more traditional images reflecting the influence of Diego Rivera, a prominent painter who led the Mexican Mural Movement in Mexican art, and who received several SF commissions including one now at the SF Art Institute. Rivera’s original mural at Coit was destroyed to make room for an image of Lenin. As you can see, rural and urban industry was an important theme here.

As the week progressed and we spent more time outside, and we started paying attention to outdoor murals like this in Chinatown

One afternoon we went to Clarion Alley Murals in the Mission District, the area with the highest concentration of murals in SF. The Clarion Alley Murals Project (CAMP) is an artists collective first formed in 1992 to help other artist create murals in Clarion Alley and surrounding areas that focused on the theme of Central American struggle. Here we see one of the more visually complex works referencing film.

Popular icons were often incorporated, as in this simple but moving tribute to Michael Jackson so appropriately executed in “Black or White”.

You can see how the quiet Michael Jackson memorial stands out when surrounded by murals packed with large splashes of intense color.

This thought-provoking mural juxtaposes a beautiful image with eery creatures and a reinterpreted Uncle Sam to make a statement. How do you interpret this one?

Then there were images of pure poetry.

Next on our agenda was The Women’s Building Mural, which is striking in its creative design and strong integration with existing architectural elements, literally wrapping around them. You can read more about this multi-cultural, multi-generational collaboration of seven women artists in 1994 here.

Murals were everywhere in Mission and we made a number of unplanned photo stops on the way to Balmy Street, including this recreational center.

Like Clarion Alley, Balmy Street was covered in murals!

Here’s one of the most hauntingly beautiful creations on a garage door.

Occasionally, we found murals like this one which incorporated iconic images from famous works of art, like Picasso’s epic “Guernica”. Which elements do you recognize?

On our way to dinner in North Beach, we came across this vivid depiction of life in the countryside outside of the US.

A few blocks away we found this tribute to contemporary jazz in the US. Never a dull moment!

For those of you who have the opportunity to visit San Francisco, I would suggest taking a Mission District Mural Tour offered for free by SF City Guides, which came highly recommended. Or look for another tour operator. There’s so much to see that a tour guide with expertise would be welcome.

Our newfound awareness and admiration for this popular and fairly commonplace art form in SF gave us a context for the murals we encountered during our upcoming Facebook Tour, which will be the subject of one of my next posts. To be continued…

Grounds for Sculpture – Seward Johnson Retrospective

June 17, 2014 by Beverly

A picture is worth a thousand words in this instance. See for yourself and see why I am so looking forward to the “Seward Johnson: The Retrospective”, featuring more than 287 of works at the Grounds for Sculpture in Trenton, Jersey, which runs through September 21st, 2014. Here is a sampling of the permanent collection from a recent visit.

Our version of Munch’s “The Scream”

Lunch with my new friends in Renoir’s “Boating Party”

More food in Edouard Manet’s Le Dejeuner sur l’herbe.

Jay waiving from Monet’s “Garden at Sainte-Addresse” – the scale of which is mind-boggling.

Finally, a suitcase my husband can’t lift in Grant Wood’s “American Gothic”

With even more Johnson sculptures than ever before in three new indoor shows, this is going to be a spectacular day! The art historian in me gets a big kick out of seeing his re-interpretation of so many iconic images – an experience I that I highly recommend to all of you.

This will be a show with something for everyone. Savor every minute of it!

Irresistible Chocolate Factory in Chelsea

June 1, 2014 by Beverly

Given my sweet tooth, love of all things chocolate, and previous job as an Account Executive on the M&M Mars Account, I couldn’t resist going to this show featuring a recreation of the Columbina Chocolate Factory at the David Zwirner Gallery in Chelsea. The artist, Oscar Murillo, collaborated with Colombina, one of the premier food companies in his native Columbia, to make this happen calling this exhibition “A Mercantile Novel”.

When my daughter Bonnie and I walked in, it smelled and looked like the M&M Mars candy factory I used to visit in Hacketstown, NJ. Bonnie looked very happy, perhaps pleased that we were looking at REAL chocolate rather than paintings of chocolate!

This is an exhibit where you can touch and participate. Tens of thousands of candies are being produced and given away for free at the gallery and Columbina, certainly a way to get their name out there to American consumers. Visitors and volunteers are invited to take smiley-faced packages of chocolates and give them to people throughout the five boroughs, embracing the diversity of NYC communities. A part of me loved the unexpected novelty of this show, and the other part felt like I was participating in one giant advertisement for the company.

While we were visiting the gallery, we ran into a tour of smiling and engaged participants. Unfortunately we arrived near the very end and missed the commentary. At home, I found an interesting UK article showcasing photos of the 13 Columbian factory workers who were brought over for the exhibition.

At the end of the tour, the guide offered to take photos with the visitors. Of course, I had to take him up on the generous offer… Later on, I found out he was Jerry Salz, the esteemed art critic for New York Magazine (whose reviews I has read religiously through the years) and Pulitzer Prize winner.

When he asked me who I was, I told him I was Beverly, the dessert painter, and showed him a postcard. He looked at it, threw up his hands, and exclaimed, “Just accept this show! Accept it!”. I really wasn’t sure what he meant. How do you interpret this?

Attention all chocoholics: You can still stop by and get your own chocolate snacks through June 14th, 2014. Enjoy!

Philip Pearlstein 90th Birthday Party

May 18, 2014 by Beverly

I was so excited when my friend Anita called and invited me to a very special event celebrating Philip Pearlstein’s 90th birthday. Anita is a long-time friend of Dorothy, Philip’s wife, and was kind enough to call and ask if she could bring an extra guest to the opening of his new show at the Betty Cunningham Gallery in Chelsea. Philip Pearlstein is a force to be reckoned with in the art world as a painter with works in over 70 museums around the world and a professor at Brooklyn College for 25 years. He is a renowned realistic figure painter who helped breathe life back in the Modern Realism movement – for which I am eternally grateful given my love of realism.

I first met Philip over 40 years ago when I was a college student on break from the University of Michigan. After seeing an ad featuring this giant nude cropped at unusual angles, I decided to go to the opening at the Donald Morris Gallery, in Royal Oak, Michigan. I was bowled over by a few rooms packed full of large, still in-your-face images of realistic nudes, and told him so. The 1970s paintings were quiet and almost monochromatic, but forceful and energized by patterned rugs and fabric furniture, and unexpected reflections. Even back then, I recognized that these images were impactful and iconic. Little did I know he would keep painting nudes for the rest of his career. When we met this time, I had something a bit personal to talk about.

When Philip got up to thank everyone for coming and give some brief comments, I saw a woman wearing a hat walk right up to him and start taking photos with her phone. At first, I couldn’t believe how bold she was. Then it turns out she was the next speaker. That’s Audrey Flack, a good friend of Philip’s and pioneer of photorealist painting, whose work is owned by major museums such as the Met Museum, MOMA and Guggenheim. The room was packed full of famous people in the art world , if only I had known who they were…

While I was speaking with Philip’s actress/playwright daughter, she told me her father still paints every day for at least 4 to 5 hours. This fit with what I was seeing – a vibrant man, with a twinkle in his eye and a dry sense of humor too, who looks absolutely amazing at 90!

I will always treasure the catalog that was given out which paid tribute to Philip’s entire body of work, as did the cupcakes from Eleni’s Bakery with photos of his paintings on top.

The show included large format watercolor and oils which gave some insight into how Philip works. When I asked him whether he painted the watercolors first, Philip said he did because he wanted to see if they were worth the time to invest in an oil painting. Here’s a watercolor that he apparently thought had potential. You can see for yourself how a larger, more complex watercolor rectangular composition with two figures evolved it into a more focused, square oil painting with a single figure.

As you can see, Philip Pearlstein is still going strong at 90 and is officially my new role model! Move over Wayne Thiebaud….for now, anyway. If you’re a Pearlstein fan, I think this is a show you can’t miss. Happy BIrthday, Philip!

Bev’s First Bite

May 3, 2014 by Beverly

Welcome to Bev’s Bites of Life!

I’m Beverly, a dessert painter and art historian who lives and works in Westchester County, NY. To me, art is more than paint strokes on a canvas. It’s about inspiration. Here I will share everything that piques my interest – from art shows in NYC galleries and museums, to bakeries and food, along with slices of my family life. I also want to hear about what drives you! I would love to open communication with my readers and build a community so we can exchange ideas and inspire each other.

Feel free to introduce yourself in the comments section. Looking forward to “meeting” you!