Oreo Cookies | Beverly Shipko, Artist

Day 2 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo in 3 Pieces

September 2, 2015 by Beverly

Don’t you just love the icing on Oreo Cookies?

That’s what inspired me to paint this Oreo, creatively bitten by my friend Eva Suchow. The white icing is just begging to be licked off!

“Eva’s Oreo Cookie in 3 Pieces” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches.

Compositionally, the icing provides a strong contrast to the broken pieces of the cookie. I wonder how Eva bit the top part of the cookie and not the bottom. Certainly there was no other entry quite like it.

Here is Eva just a few moments before participating in my Oreo Cookie Contest, and earning her spot as a finalist. Eva is the lady on the far right in the black sweater, with her husband Steve on the far left, and their friends, Gerri and Stan, from Australia (winning my award for traveling the farthest to attend my Open Studio!).

Yesterday’s Oreo Cookie painting came so easily that I expected the same things to happen today – but somehow it didn’t. That’s why painting is an art and not a science.

Today I started with the same size 6 x 6 wood panel, sketched in the cookie, and used a similar light pink acrylic ground to dull the white primer.

Then I struggled for a few hours applying oil paint – except when I brought out my old bristle brushes for the background, which gave the paint more texture. Maybe I’m simply more tired today. In this photo, I’m working on one of the parts that I labored over – the grooves going around the entire edge of the cookie.

While I’m happy with today’s Oreo painting, I wonder what the day will be like tomorrow. Perhaps Marli’s Oreo Cookie in 4 Pieces from Day 1 came together rather effortlessly because of the graphic quality of the four pieces, all of which conveniently broke into equal sized triangles. It’s something to consider as I move forward and choose subjects for the rest of the Challenge.

Any thoughts? Maybe there’s something I’m missing here. Sometimes we can’t see what’s right in front of us.

Thanks for your help and see you tomorrow!

Day 1 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo in 4 Pieces

September 1, 2015 by Beverly

I am addicted to Oreo Cookies. Painting them, that is, rather than devouring them like I did when I was younger.

And so I couldn’t resist returning again to one of my favorite subjects to kick off Day 1 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Day Challenge.

In fact, this isn’t any Oreo. This is one of the many entries I received in my annual Oreo Cookie Contest which I sponsor during the RiverArts Open Studio Tour in April. You are all invited to come over and simply take a bite to enter. I pick the best entries, paint them, and name the paintings after the biters. Marli’s Oreo Cookie in 4 Pieces is one of the 2015 finalists.

“Marli’s Oreo Cookie in 4 Pieces” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on wood cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches

This painting is essentially Marli’s portrait, albeit a non-traditional one, showing her unique bite.

Let me introduce you to Marli herself in the red shirt, who happens to be my next door neighbor. She and her friends Tess, Sydney and Dylan, all came to the Studio Tour (several times, I might add) and participated in the Oreo Cookie Contest (fellow chocoholics?). A good time was had by all, as you can see.

This particular Oreo is unusual since it broke into 4 parts, instead of the typical 2 or 3 pieces. I haven’t seen that for a number of years, and so this distinctive configuration stood out from the many other entries.

There are still a lot of potential paintings left on this table. But despite the best of intentions to plan, I still don’t know what tomorrow’s painting will be. Stay tuned.

If you get a craving for Oreos, be sure and stop by both here and my studio, where I always keep a spare pack of Oreos handy – and a camera nearby.

Now Showing in Nantucket Too!

July 19, 2015 by Beverly

I am pleased to announce that Cavalier Gallery in Nantucket, MA is exhibiting my work in a Summer Group Exhibition. Thank you Lindsay for sending these installation photos today!

In this first photo, you can see 4 of my small Challenge paintings of desserts, in a place of honor next to the renowned Wolf Kahn, and over one of my favorite Carole Feuerman resin sculptures.

What fun for a summer show! It looks like the swimmer is resting and dreaming about desserts, doesn’t it?

Here we see Cosmic Oreo set in a nook against a fireplace screen, as if it’s on a stage. It sure does pop! I’m impressed with the installation of this eclectic group of paintings and sculptures which somehow works well together.

In addition to the paintings Lindsay photographed, Cavalier Nantucket has 10 more, including my ice cream sandwich series, Trifles from Crust Pizza and Wine Bar, Jay’s Ice Cream Cone – all very fitting for a summer show set on an island destination with 90 degree temperatures.

Cavalier Gallery just moved its Nantucket location to a larger space in its own building at 10 Federal Street, and now has a sculpture garden.

Photo courtesy of Cavalier Gallery, Nantucket, MA.

I hope you’ll satisfy your ice cream and dessert cravings at Cavalier the next time you’re in Nantucket!

Oreo Cookie Contest 2015

April 30, 2015 by Beverly

Part of the fun of the Oreo Cookie Contest is officially unveiling the winner from the previous year. Here it is. Congratulations to Samantha who took a funky bite out of this Oreo! (And it sold too!)

“Samantha’s Bite – 2014 Oreo Cookie Contest Winner”, by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 8 x 8 inches.

This year, the annual Oreo Cookie Contest was an overwhelming success. As you can see, we got a lot of participants. Now it’s time to get to work photographing these entries, and whittling down the finalists.

I love to watch people as they take their bites. The expressions on their faces before and after are priceless. Here’s Blake, who comes back year after year, and arrived this time with suggestions on how to market my work online. His entry which has a lot of potential – teeth marks and all!

And these are the girls who couldn’t stay away. Their enthusiasm was contagious – and they kept coming back for more (more for the sugar than the art).

For the first time, this event was featured in two online calendars.

http://rivertowns.dailyvoice.com/events/kids-family/906537/oreo-cookie-contest

Annual Oreo Cookie Contest

By popular demand, the Oreo Cookie Contest will return next year. And I’m already looking forward to being inspired by the entries as I am this year.

Time to get to work!

My Upcoming Open Studio

March 18, 2015 by Beverly

After looking at everyone’s else’s artwork for 3 days at 6 New York City art fairs in early March, I was inspired to hunker down and focus on my own painting for the fast approaching Open Studio. I am pleased with what I have accomplished so far. Today I hope to finish up the raw double yolk painting (on the right).

I will be opening my Ardsley, NY home studio to the public as a participant in the 2015 RiverArts Studio Tour. This event will take place on Saturday, April 25th and Sunday, April 26th from 11am – 5pm. The location is 36 Sheldon Street, Ardsley. So save the date!

You are all invited to enter my annual Oreo Cookie Contest. Come and take a bite out of an Oreo to submit your entry! It’s that simple. I paint the winning Oreo and name the oil painting after the biter since it’s your “portrait”. Here’s what my kitchen table looked like last year.

There were so many entries that were good, it was difficult to select one winner. While I did some oil sketches, I need to pick the winning entry (and stop procrastinating!) and finish a detailed oil painting before the upcoming Open Studio.

Some of my newest works will be on display, including the largest Oreo I ever painted, call Cosmic Oreo. (Gotta keep the Oreo theme going strong….) This work was started for my Just Desserts demonstration and art marketing talk at the Scarsdale Art Association in October, 2014 (see The Sheer Joy of “Just Desserts”).

I named this painting Cosmic Oreo since the finished work reminded me of the cosmos with its planets, stars, and even space debris. How’s that for a new take on crumbs?

The entire collection of small works from the 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge will be displayed for the first time. In case you were wondering if I am totally addicted to painting Oreos and desserts, you can see that I explored a variety of subjects during the Challenge.

Of course, no Open Studio would be complete without desserts – real and painted! Besides Oreos, we’ll have some of our favorite cakes, pies, and tarts from Riviera Bakehouse in Ardsley on hand. Bonnie is already picking out the dessert menu. You can see for yourselves what we served last year. Maybe something you eat will turn into my next painting… One thing you can be sure of is that I”ll be taking lots of photos!

I always look forward to this weekend – and to seeing all of you

Day 21 of the 30/30 Challenge – Plate of Oreos

January 21, 2015 by Beverly

9am on Wednesday, January 21st. When I last did a drawing rather than a painting because I was short on time, I choose Cathedral Rock and felt a little guilty, like I was cheating. Looking back, my Cathedral Rock drawing was done quickly and accomplished the goal of getting me out the door to the New York Philharmonic and two museums. It didn’t quite work the same way with this drawing.

I was too ambitious. My perfectionist streak came out. If I had just wanted to save time, I would have picked something even simpler. With only one Oreo, I could have completed this drawing last night, and enjoyed my whole day off from the Challenge today.

Instead, I didn’t take the easy way out. I had to try my first plate packed full of Oreos to see if the composition might work as a painting. Graham’s Plate of Oreo Cookie was a wonderful learning experience that remained unfinished when I left this morning (continuing my unfinished streak from yesterday’s Sunset).

Day 21. “Graham’s Plate of Oreo Cookies” by Beverly Shipko, Unfinished pencil drawing on bristol board, 6 x 6 inches.

You might remember seeing a photo of this plate on Day 3 when I talked about the annual tradition of Oreo Cookie Parties that Graham, his brothers and I have established. If memory serves me correctly, little brother Marsh also contributed a few cookies to this endeavor.

The tops of the Oreo cookies need definition and darkening, which will give this much contrast and depth – right? Just maybe I’ll get to it before I leave for the Merry Widow HD movies tonight. Maybe not.

So have an Oreo on me. That means one less logo to draw later.

Update at 11:30pm on January 21st. I did get to work on this today in the afternoon between appointments and later after coming home from the movie. You can see for yourself what a difference a few hours made on this drawing (a scan vs. photo helped capture the details).

End of Day 21. “Graham’s Plate of Oreos” by Beverly Shipko, Drawing on bristol board, 6 x 6 inches.

Do you think I should paint this? It would require a heavy time commitment once I get larger than this 6 x 6 drawing.

Thanks for coming by and giving me your comments.

Day 5 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo

January 5, 2015 by Beverly

Last night I felt another Oreo Cookie coming on, so I went with it. Whoever ate this left some really fine teeth marks, didn’t they?

This partially eaten Oreo came from a photo I took during the 2012 Oreo Cookie Contest that I sponsored during the RiverArts Open Studio Tour, an annual event held on the last weekend in April. Everyone who comes to my home studio and takes a bite out of an Oreo is automatically entered. Then I pick a winning Oreo, paint it, and name the painting after the biter – who is unknown in this case since they didn’t write down their name.

Day 5. Beverly Shipko, “Oreo Cookie – Anonymous”, Oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches.

I think it’s safe to say that this Oreo belonged to a child, based on the small teeth marks and creative way the cookie has been bitten in a few places – which is what makes this fun and unusual. The triangular piece of cookie on top somehow makes me think about floating icebergs and continental shifting (aka sea-floor spreading from college geology; a bit absurd, isn’t it?), both atypical associations for an Oreo . What do you think of when you look at this image?

Day 5 felt much better than Day 4 because I was able to incorporate some lessons learned and was psychologically prepared for working on a surface that was less than optimal. Today I put more paint on my brushes, which perhaps you can see in the white filling. I also used finer brushes than usual for the details, which was needed to get into the tiny “craters” on the surface.

At first, it was difficult for me to get started on this Oreo. Instead, I wanted to work on yesterday’s carrot cupcake and build up the texture of the nuts with more paint. However, I realized if I started doing that, time would fly by, I would get started late on the Oreo, and then I would miss meditation class, like I missed Downtown Abbey last night preparing for today (applying the pink ground in acrylic and sketching the image). Keeping in mind the spirit of the 30/30 Challenge, I put the carrot cupcake away in the corner where I wouldn’t see it all day and be tempted (to paint it, not eat it!), and focused on the task at hand – which took great self-control.

It was a good decision. I was pleased with the result and the process (no mishaps today with the velcro, which was a good thing.)

See you tomorrow – same time, same place.

Day 3 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo

January 4, 2015 by Beverly

Today I returned to my roots with this half-eaten Oreo Cookie oil painting on panel.

This was my first Oreo on a smooth surface, and the first time I used a pink underpainting (peeking through in the highlights). Graham ate this cookie, so I named the painting after him since it’s essentially his “portrait”.

Day 3. “Graham’s Oreo Cookie” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches.

Graham is the grandson of my friend Faye, who brings her grandsons over every year for an Oreo Cookie Party with The Oreo Cookie Lady (my nickname) when they visit from out-of-town.

It’s has become an annual summer tradition that we all look forward to. The boys like to run around outside, play cards and bite some cookies for me – lots of cookies… Faye makes sure to bring them over after dinner for dessert, otherwise they’ll spoil their appetites. Here is some of their handiwork.

Of course, I have a fresh pack of Oreos ready, plenty of napkins, plates and a gallon of milk. The boys have such a good time pulling the Oreos apart, stacking and grouping them so they stand up, dunking them, and, of course, eating them, creating all sorts of innovative designs for me along the way. I have my camera out and put it to good use taking photos of a wide range of original arrangements that only kids could come up with.

While I have sketched some of their masterpieces before in pencil, Graham’s Oreo Cookie is the first oil sketch. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see another original creation by one of the boys in the next 27 days. Should you be interested in buying today’s painting, please email the artist at info@beverlyshipko.com.

Time to get ready for Day 4. See you tomorrow!

Upcoming “Just Desserts” Talk and Painting Demonstration

September 4, 2014 by Beverly

Have you ever wondered how this drawing becomes that painting?

You are invited to a behind the scenes look into how I turn a drawing on canvas into a finished oil painting. I am excited to announce that I will be giving a demonstration and talk to the Scarsdale Art Association this coming Saturday, September 6th from 1-4 pm on “Just Desserts” at:

The Girl Scout House

37 Wayside Lane

Scarsdale, NY 10583

Since I am known as The Oreo Lady, I am going to demonstrate the artistic process by painting this Oreo on a 24 x 36 inch canvas – my biggest one yet! My favorite part is building up the texture by piling on the paint, so I’ll start with the crumbs and white filling.

Of course, we will be serving Oreos and other desserts at the reception afterwards. It would be rather frustrating if we were all salivating over the painting and didn’t have anything to eat…

I will share a bit of my own background in advertising and marketing, how this has been instrumental in promoting and marketing my own dessert art, and answer your questions.

I hope all of you will learn a few tips that you can use in the art world. So come on by this Saturday, September 6th.

The entire event is free. Registration is not required. Parking is available at the Girl Scout House and in the lot next door.

I am looking forward to seeing you!

Bites in Print

July 7, 2014 by Beverly

Today’s blog focuses on various ways to execute bites from Oreo Cookies. If you were expecting bites from The Vampire Diaries or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you may want to look elsewhere…. I finally took the plunge into the whole new world of prints, opening the door to a new area of exploration – along with a new gallery in California and a July group show in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.

After working almost exclusively in oil for many years, I began a series of 6 x 6 inch Oreo cookie drawings. Since it is easier and quicker to draw than to paint (think no messy oil paint brush cleanup!), I am able to explore a larger variety of possibilities and whimsical compositions using this particular icon. Here are 10 drawings in cello bags, along with some of the original subjects.

My initial concept was to make prints of single original Limited Edition Giclée Art Prints based on the Oreo drawings, like this one.

While looking at the initial array square Oreo drawings on the table (shown above), I started playing with the tiles and arranging them. A composition eventually emerged. For the next two days, I intermittently rearranged the drawings, when I finally realized I was looking at my first composite print of 9 Oreo Cookies called “Oreo Mandala”. “Oreo Mandala” made its gallery debut at SuperFresh Food Art Gallery in Novato, CA, which Jay and I visited on the first day of our recent San Francisco trip. Let me introduce you to one of the co-owners, Jennifer Carden, a California food stylist, who coincidentally went to art school at SUNY Purchase. It’s a small world!

Don’t you just love the big fork next to the Oreo print?

Imagine being in a room surrounded by exquisite food, without gaining any weight… I have Cristine Kossow, a fellow food artist who I met through our local Art Card Group, to thank for telling me about this gallery.

Now that I am officially an artist who works in print, there are a plethora of opportunities to exhibit prints and drawings that were previously unavailable, such as the PaperWorks 2014 juried show at Upstream Gallery in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, currently on display.

PaperWorks 2014 featured in the RiverTowns Enterprise – with a delicious surprise!

The two Oreo prints accepted into this exhibit are part of a series showing participating entries from my Oreo Cookie Contest, held during the RiverArts Open Studio Tour a few years back. Since the “biter” of the bottom Oreo neglected to leave their name, this “portrait” is titled “Oreo Cookie #2 – Anonymous”. The top print, “Oreo Cookie #8 – My Bite”, was my own contribution to the series and thus is my Oreo “portrait”. Can you see the resemblance?

Stop by the Upstream Gallery before July 27^thfor a closer look!

Thank you to all my loyal fans who have encouraged me to stretch, to be more adventuresome, and to try a new media. In other words, thanks for inspiring me to take a bite out of life!

A Loyal Fan

May 10, 2014 by Beverly

Let me introduce you to Blake “The Biter”, one of my greatest fans, who entered my Oreo Cookie Contest this year and in the past. You can see how much thought and care he has given to his bite, and how proud he is of his entry, which broke into 3 pieces and has plenty of crumbs (we like crumbs!)

Blake and his father stopped by early Saturday, the first day my home studio was open, to take a bite. Then they came back late Sunday afternoon to check out the competition. I don’t think Blake was happy to see so many other entries, and he sure did analyze them carefully. Good luck, Blake!

Oreo Cookie Contest

May 8, 2014 by Beverly

To all of you who came to my Open Studio and enthusiastically “took a bite” to enter my Oreo Cookie Contest, I want to thank you for your participation and wish you good luck!

Now the process begins to select the top Oreo Cookies finalists. It will be particularly challenging this year since there were so many contestants with creative ideas on how to bite an Oreo. There are almost too many great choices – if such a thing is possible.

The first step is to perfect the lighting across the Oreos. My favorite paintings usually have dramatic interplay of lights and darks along cracked surfaces – and lots of extra crumbs! Then I photograph each cookie for safe keeping.

After many years of painting Oreos, I have found that having a visual record of the initial concept is important. The light in my studio changes dramatically from morning to afternoon, shifting the highlights and shadows, which is not optimal. I have new empathy for the French Impressionists who started their outdoor paintings in a particular place at a specific time of day, and then went back daily at the same time to the same spot until they finished.

Open Studio

May 8, 2014 by Beverly

Thank you everyone for coming to my Open Studio and making it such a successful event! The turnout was great, the questions insightful, and the feedback meaningful. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with all of you.

Having the opportunity to dialog with you always opens up the doors to new ideas, creative directions, and potential explorations. Certainly that was the case and it is much appreciated.

Hope you come back again soon!