Paintings | Beverly Shipko, Artist

Day 6 of the 30/30 Challenge – Boston Cream Pie

January 6, 2015 by Beverly

Today was a very satisfying day. I am happy, both with the painting itself and that fact I finished in time to leave for the New York Philharmonic tonight. I even fit dinner in beforehand.

Day 6. “Boston Cream Pie”, by Beverly Shipko, Oil on panel (smooth finish), 5 x 7 inches.

I believe this painting worked out well for a few reasons. My husband says he likes it Boston Cream Pie because the chocolate glistens and looks like it is actually dripping down the cake. The cake itself has interesting patterns from the flowing chocolate.

Since this subject was more complex than in previous days, last night I spent more time planning, sketching in details, and painting some of the darks to establish the structure (up too late again!). Also, I was using the smooth panel finish that I had in 5 x 7 inches (my 6 x 6 order is on the way) which gave me more control while painting the details.

This morning I had a clear sense of how to approach the painting and accomplish what I needed to do in a limited amount of time. After two hours, I started feeling more confident, like I just might complete this work within the time constraints. I still had a ways to go.

Since there were a lot of warm tones in this Boston Creme Pie, I incorporated cool background tones, and was careful to use different brushes for every color – and wiped them off frequently – so the paint stayed fresh and didn’t get muddy. I admit this was getting harder to do as my work space got messier. Somehow I ended up with two palettes. I need to spend some time cleaning tubes, putting caps back on, and organizing the tubes by color – which will save time in the long run.

As I think about tomorrow, I realize the Boston Cream Pie is a tough act to follow. I am feeling like now is a good time to take a break from desserts and switch to an orchid or Western landscape. However, being a practical person, I recognize that the colors leftover on this palette are perfect for a Dunkin’ Donut painting that I already sketched.

So doughnuts it is for Day 7.

Hope to see you tomorrow. If you are interested in purchasing the Boston Cream Pie, please contact the artist directly at info@beverlyshipko.com.

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 4 of the 30/30 Challenge – Carrot Cupcake

January 5, 2015 by Beverly

Take note carrot cake lovers (especially my husband Jay), this is for you!

The colorful orange carrot on top drew me to this cupcake today for a change of pace, not to mention its delicious taste (hint, hint to my baking daughter Bonnie). Since my Day 1 painting of the yin-yang cupcake was so successful, I decided to paint another one from the same high vantage point.

Day 4. “Crumbs Carrot Cupcake” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches.

A few unexpected “technical” issues (for lack of a better word) emerged today, which I was able to resolve.

First, there was the panel itself: Unlike Day 1 where the panel had a smooth finish, today’s panel had a textured finish. Just when I was thoroughly enjoying the freedom of butter-like paint application on the silky smooth surface, I had to switch since I’m out of the square 6 x 6 size smooth panels. Unfortunately, A.I. Friedman had such a great sale on the new smooth finish that they ran out. So I compromised and bought the textured square panels which were in stock, thinking it wouldn’t make a much of a difference, and used the first one today (the textured subject seemed like a good fit for the surface).

Wrong. While I seemed to have more control over the paint, I also felt like I was tightening up painting on this surface – which is the complete opposite of what I’m going for with this challenge. I am also missing the “look” of the other board. Can you see the difference in the surface between today and Days 1, 2, and 3? The texture is much more prominent that I would like and too uniform (artificial looking), unlike canvas. Fortunately, I just located smooth 6 x 6 panels online at Jerry’s Artarama and ordered 15 more to get through the challenge (hopefully that’s enough). It’s at times like these that I absolutely love the internet.

Second: I was making pretty good progress today in the morning when, all of a sudden when my back was turned, this panel fell off the easel! I couldn’t believe it.

Apparently, the adhesive putty I was using dried out and lost its stickiness (you can see it lying on the easel on the left). Fortunately, I was able to repair the damage to the sketch itself without too much effort since it was early in the day. Then I was able to regroup with the velcro I had on hand (thanks again, Tony, for the suggestion!) to hold the panel on the easel where it belonged, which worked well the rest of the day. Hopefully it will peel right off tomorrow. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

I feel like I am in good shape for Day 5. Tonight I even have time to sketch my next painting and watch the first episode of the Downton Abbey new season.

Life is good.

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!

Day 2 of the 30/30 Challenge – Devil’s Food Cupcake

January 3, 2015 by Beverly

I decided to stick with the dessert theme and another Crumbs Bake Shop cupcake, but from a completely different perspective.

While yesterday I painted a more graphic top-down view of a Milkshake cupcake in a square format, today I opted for a classic horizontal side view of the Crumbs Devil’s Food cupcake. This time I chose to crop the bottom off this cupcake – another first for me. Often my compositions are more traditional and include the whole cupcake, but if there is ever a time to experiment, this challenge is it. Here is the “finished” painting.

Day 2. “Crumbs Devil’s Food Cupcake” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on panel, 5 x 7 inches.

I used the word “finished” in quotes, because a part of me still doesn’t believe this is complete. There are a lot of small details in this sketch, so I’m seeing more things that I want to change than yesterday, even though I know deep down that these changes won’t do much to improve the overall painting. I want to maintain the loose quality to the paint application that is appealing. The incremental benefits of working on this longer are small, and the risks of overworking this sketch are great. So it’s time to stop and start thinking about tomorrow. This is such good practice for me!

Here’s the photograph I was working with, and the panel as it looked around noon. Since I discovered yesterday that I liked using a color underpainting, I decided to apply a more intense pink this time, using acrylic paint that dries in minutes unlike oil that takes weeks (especially since I am using an extremely rich but slow drying titanium white).

After the pink dried, I sketched in the details with a pencil, and then started painting the darks in with brown oil paint to establish the structure and 3-D feeling early on.

I spent most of the afternoon working on the top of the cupcake before moving into the wrapper, again starting with the darks. Looking at this photo, I realize I miss some of the pink you see here in the preliminary wrapper. The pink undertones peeking through liven up this almost monochromatic image, something to keep in mind for the future.

It’s good for me to be writing this blog and reflect back on the progress I made in a short period of time. The realization that the very flat pink cupcake above has somehow magically transformed itself into a real, live cupcake in a few hours brings a smile to my face.

All in all, it was another great day. I gained more confidence since this subject was more complex, containing many more details in the dripping chocolate and accordion-pleated wrapper. Yet I was able to complete the painting earlier than on Day 1.

I’ll have some time to mull over my subject for tomorrow while I clean the dozen brushes that are still sitting in my studio. Sometimes I procrastinate since it’s a messy job, but someone has to do it. It would help if I wake up early tomorrow and start painting right away (even though I am a night person and my body rebels against the thought). The days are so short that I need all the natural light I can get, and paintings generally photograph better in natural light.

I am looking forward to Day 3 and whatever it brings. Should you be interested in buying this painting, please contact me directly at info@beverlyshipko.com.

Day 1 of the 30/30 Challenge – Milkshake Cupcake

January 2, 2015 by Beverly

For those of you know my work, it’s not surprising that I chose a dessert today for my first daily painting.

I wanted to directly compare the process of painting a sketch vs. a highly finished work, and to use this experience as a benchmark for the future. Today I decided to work from a photo that I took of this delectable “yin-yang” cupcake from Crumbs Bake Shop, which I kept in a photo book (my version of a sketchbook.) To my surprise, I just checked and found out that it is over 4 years old, which is a long time to be thinking about a potential subject.

Day 1. “Crumbs Milkshake Cupcake” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches.

There were a lot of firsts today: This is the first oil painting I have ever done in a day, the first one on a wood panel, my smallest dessert at 6 x 6 inches, and the first time I used a tinted undercoating (a faint hint of pink is showing through the vanilla frosting and blue shadow).

All in all, it was a successful day and I had a good time.

The paint literally glided on the totally smooth surface of the wood panel, which made paint application easy and pleasant. It was still a bit of an adjustment, and in some ways the surface felt less forgiving than canvas or linen (which is flexible) since the paint sits right on the rigid surface. Perhaps I’ll feel differently after I have a few more paintings under my belt. I spent more time contemplating each step along the way since my personal goal was to complete this by the end of the day, and I knew there was no time to let the panel dry and repaint mistakes later.

My impulse was to keep working tonight and add more details (e.g. shadows on each crumb) until the cupcake was “perfect”. While I knew in my gut that this sketch was finished, old habits die hard and I wanted to keep going anyway, even knowing the brushwork would lose its freshness by doing that.

Thanks again, Laura, for gently but firmly reminding me that this cupcake was intended to be a daily painting, and that the true challenge for me is to accept this fact and adjust my style accordingly. Knowing when to stop is mostly an art and not a science (which applies to blogging too…).

If you are interested in purchasing this painting, please contact the artist at info@beverlyshipko.com.

See you tomorrow!

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.

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!

Artist of the Month

September 1, 2014 by Beverly

Who among you doesn’t like to win?

Bonnie and I were shopping at my favorite art supply store, A.I. Friedman, when we saw a sign announcing a monthly contest with the prize being a $250 gift certificate to the store.

We started talking about why I haven’t entered before. After all, what do I have to lose.. the prize?

When an email arrived a month ago announcing the A.I. Friedman August Pop-Art Contest, I knew I would enter one of my dessert paintings, which have often been described as “pop”. Immediately, I thought of Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans and decided that I should enter a branded painting with a familiar icon. I settled on Dunkin’ Donuts and I had these two options:

I decided to go with the first painting, the classic box of Dunkin’ Donuts, since it felt more graphic and pop in spirit. I entered and completely forgot about the contest.

While recently coming back from a long weekend in Martha’s Vineyard, I checked my email and unexpectedly saw a subject that said, “Congratulations! You Won!” I let out a yell from the gut that scared my husband, who was driving, and started grinning from ear to ear. Of course, Jay wondered what the fuss was all about. I was just plain happy, excited, and proud to be recognized.

I immediately began thinking about the red Old Holland oil paint I wanted, but had put back on the shelf after getting sticker shock from the $50 price tag for such a little tube. Now I can purchase the red paint without feeling guilty. I can’t wait until my next shopping trip to the Port Chester store to browse for new art supplies. Thanks again A.I. Friedman!

For all you artists out there, Happy Entering! You never know what can happen.

The Team

May 9, 2014 by Beverly

As in most successful endeavors, there is a support team who works behind the scenes. A special thank you goes to my family for their help on my Open Studio weekend. My husband, Jay, cheerfully ran a seemingly endless list of errands leading up to the event, and my youngest daughter, Bonnie, handled many of the numerous nitty gritty details and helped keep me organized (the teacher in her came out!).

Given that I am a food painter, no occasion passes by without serving food. What do you think we offered besides Oreos? Desserts, of course! Bonnie was in charge of the edible food (how did that healthy looking fruit sneak onto the table?). She is an accomplished baker, as you can see from the Chocolate Cherry Trifle hanging on the wall that she whipped up for me to paint.

Finally, I want to thank Maritza who helped with the setup and graciously manned the Oreo Cookie Contest table for two days.

You all made a great team and I couldn’t have done this without you!

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!