#OpenStudio | Beverly Shipko, Artist

Purple & Yellow Wakeup Call

May 27, 2020 by Beverly

When I was sitting on my patio today, I thought about the possibilities of decorating this outdoor space.

Now that open studio tours are on hold, I am displaying an oil painting in the corner window facing the front of my apartment building. This week I chose a painting from my double yolk egg series.

Double Yolk Egg on a Purple Plate (oil on linen, 16 x 20 in.) has 3 basic contrasting colors: purple, cadmium yellow, and white.

I never consciously put it together until today that the color scheme matches my purple pansies, with their yellow and white faces.

This insight was a bit of a wakeup call. This was the first time I considered the possibility of leveraging this cozy outdoor space as an extension of my home studio. Color coordinating paintings and flowers were a new thing for me. For the moment, I’m thinking more like an outdoor installation artist – on a much smaller scale, of course. I can’t wait until the nurseries open up!

On a larger scale, it’s time to think outside the box – to Think Differently (thank you Steve Jobs!). I need to expand my horizons beyond traditional galleries, and take advantage of our new Zoom reality, one small purple-and-yellow step at a time.

2018 Open Studio: You Are Invited!

March 13, 2018 by Beverly

When I came home from visiting Mom in Michigan, a big Vistaprint box awaited me on the kitchen table. I knew what was inside – my 2018 Open Studio postcard invitations. The excitement of opening the box was mixed with a teeny bit of apprehension. Will I like the postcard? Did I choose the right paintings? Are there any typos?

I am happy to report there that I like it, there no typos, and it’s ready for the big reveal. Drumroll please…

Choosing the paintings and deciding on placement for the postcard is more an art than a science, almost like hanging the Open Studio art show itself. I’ve had to reprint (and rehang!) on several occasions in the past.

How many images should be partially eaten sweets vs. whole ones, with and without wrappers and logos, in vending machines vs.on the kitchen? What geography should they come from? The Blueberry Crumble was baked right here in Ardsley by Riviera Bakehouse, while the macarons hail from the DelRey Shop in Antwerp, Belgium.

After selecting the visuals, it’s time to play with balance and placement on the card. For example, I was concerned about the darker vending background overwhelming the delicate tonalities of the macarons. This year there’s even a nod to two healthy snack options with Mr. Peanut and a stalk of broccoli.

What would you choose to satisfy your appetites – both artistic and gastronomic?

Come and decide for yourself the weekend of April 21st and 22nd, from 11am to 5pm. You’re all invited to 36 Sheldon Street, Ardsley, NY 10502. Please bring your friends and family, all ages – especially kids and grandkids who are willing to join in the fun of my Oreo Cookie Contest simply by eating Oreos. I name a painting after the best biter!

Of course, we’ll have a dessert reception to celebrate this milestone year: 2018 is the 25th Anniversary of the RiverArts© Studio Tour. RiverArts© Studio Tour 18 maps will be on hand so you can visit some of the other 80 artists who also will be participating. Or go to www.riverarts.org to print a tour map.

Please let me know if you have any questions or need any additional information. If not, it’s time to mark your calendar. I look forward to seeing you!

2017 Open Studio

April 28, 2017 by Beverly

Thank you all for coming to my Open Studio!

For those of you who couldn’t make it, here’s a mini photo-blog tour. FYI. I meant to take an action video once people arrived, but I was too busy – and forgot to ask anyone else to do it.

When the big day arrived last Saturday, Bonnie and I were ready and waiting for our first guests, who arriving promptly at 11:00am.

My studio was amazingly clean, with just one table of oil paint tubes and brushes. I even surprised myself!

This display greeted everyone at the front door, totally arranged by Bonnie. Bravo! My big Confection Obsession painting was in the front hall too.

Confection Obsession by Beverly Shipko, Oil, 36 x 48 inches

With the new white walls, it really felt like a gallery.

And can you guess what got the most comments of all?

The broccoli, of course! Over the mantle and on the easel.

This panel of sweets attracted a lot of attention too.

It’s always fun to see who walks through the door. There’s never a dull moment. Here we are with Theresa, who made the first purchase of the weekend.

Liv of Riviera Bakehouse thoughtfully arrived with a box full of her tantalizing mini-cupcakes for our dessert table (yes, we had real edible desserts!). Perhaps there’s a mini-cupcake painting in my future…

Of course, our traditional donut holes were on hand from Dunkin’ Donuts – ostensibly for the kids, but downed by adults. Naturally, Jay dug right in.

We had neighbors.

Friends.

Loyal fans who come back annually. Somehow Samantha magically grew up into a young lady since last year!

After a whirlwind two days – including an artists party on Saturday night – our last visitor arrived on Sunday. Here’s Kathy, from my Kraft General Foods days. How nice it was to finally sit down and catch up!

And how funny it was that Bonnie looks like her daughter in this photo with all the curly hair.

Oh yes, did I forget to mention all the kitchen action with the Oreo Cookie Contest? We’ll get to that in my next post.

I hope you can stand the suspense.

Open Studio: A Team Effort

April 23, 2016 by Beverly

As with any sports teams, it takes a group effort to be successful. And everyone has their role.

My Open Studio is no exception. If you haven’t already met them, let me introduce you to the starting lineup, my teacher daughter Bonnie and husband Jay.

Jay worked hard behind the scenes, the unsung hero of the team. For two weeks I gave him lists, and everything simply magically appeared – from poster boards, packing tape, picture wire, groceries, to stamps, napkins and plates. Jay even helped prepare my printed materials, from resumes, statements to price lists.

He darted around from one task to another, making things happen like a tireless point guard. (Note: When he read this description, he said he sounded more like a locker attendant…and I couldn’t stop laughing!) Here he is cleaning up the dinner dishes the night before the Open Studio, with a smile on his face.

Bonnie is like a secret weapon who anticipates and solves problems before they arise. She calls the plays like a team captain. For example, take meals. I was so busy painting my Avocados and Blueberry Pie that I forgot about preparing meals, which is a problem for a busy teacher who works 10-12 hours at school before coming home with more work.

So she took on planning and cooking food for the entire week. This turkey meatball and sweet potato entrée, with avocado dressing (mmm!), is an example of her handiwork. Aren’t we lucky!

She happily volunteered to handle the dessert table, from start to finish. Bonnie planned the menu, placed and picked up the order, and set up the table – and replenished it after Saturday. Apparently people saved a lot of room for dessert because we started running out of everything. She also stepped up big time on Friday night, helping me clear out my studio at the eleventh hour.

Finally, we come to Maritza, an indispensable team member, who refers to the weekend as “my Open Studio”. And certainly she has been part of the team for so many years that she’s absolutely right. Two weeks in advance, Maritza helped me weed through what we would hang or pack up, how many tables to put out anyhow to display prints.

Once again, she generously volunteered to man the Oreo Cookie Contest in the kitchen for two full days, giving up her weekend after working two jobs during the week, a task that would fell lesser mortals.

Maritza assisted anyone who needed help – including yours truly who cut herself badly on the serrated edge of the wax paper box while wrapping up paintings.

So thank you, Jay, Bonnie and Maritza, for enabling me to fulfill my role as the power forward – to keep pouring on the points (maybe paints is more like it) until the very last seconds of the game. I finished this Blueberry Pie from the 2015 Open Studio the last minute and hung it wet. Of course, Bonnie made sure her dessert table included a blueberry pie from Riviera that was the inspiration.

Without all of you, this event would have never come together. I am grateful to have you on my team and consider the entire weekend one terrific victory.

Thank You For Coming!

April 22, 2016 by Beverly

I just want to thank all of you who came to my Open Studio last weekend, to those who called and emailed their support – and to the weather gods who gave us a beautiful day here in the New York area.

There was a steady stream of people all day from different parts of our lives. Jay, Bonnie and I were ready and waiting, with lots of desserts – painted and real. My newest series of 5 candy bars, Icons of the Candy Vending World, greeted you from its place of honor on the fireplace.

I always welcome the opportunity to show my new work and get feedback from all of you who bring in fresh perspectives and new ideas. My family and I are kind of “desensitized” to all these sweets. To mix things up a bit, I took a detour and painted Avocados from a Manhattan salad bar. I loved it when Johanna arrived early on and commented right away, “My doctor wants me to eat what’s on the left, and I want to eat what’s on the right”. How true!

It’s nice to make a sale near the beginning of the weekend. Here’s the first purchaser with Westminster, London, a going away present for a good friend relocating there (yes, I do enjoy painting subjects besides desserts). What a thoughtful present!

This wall of wood panel paintings sure did attract a lot of attention the whole weekend! The Kit Kat sold right away, and I received a commission for a Tootsie Roll painting since this one sold (oops! missed my opportunity to use those little red dots you see in galleries…).

Then Lynn, a talented artist herself, arrived from Brooklyn. We were chatting away since I hadn’t seen her since my first show at OK Harris Works of Art in Soho (don’t want to think about how many years passed by). It was so wonderful to reconnect!

Sometimes the most fun was just to watch who walked through the door. Current and past winners of my annual Oreo Cookie Contest came, starting with Blake, the 2015 Winner holding his “portrait”, Blake’s Bite.

The 2014 Winner, Samantha, is second from the left between my nephew, Mark, and Bonnie, along with her friend Janki.

Here’s the mother and brother of Sadie, the 2012 Oreo Cookie Contest Winner. It was so good to see Susan and Jake (how he has grown!). Susan is so enthusiastic about my work and such a sunny personality that it’s a pleasure to be around her.

Let me introduce you to Samantha, a loyal Oreo Cookie Contest participant, with her family.

Many of Jay’s bridge buddies came, some of whom I knew like, Jill, one of Jay’s regular partners, with her husband Farley.

Here we have our New York Philharmonic Box 5 Tier 3 buddies (Saturday night B series) from Bridgeport CT, who we met at Lincoln Center 5 years ago. Talk about surprises!

And then there was my long time friend, Ilene and her sister Helen. Having Ilene there was absolutely wonderful since we worked together on the M&M Mars account at DMB&B Advertising (yes, the agency world of Don Draper on Mad Men was right on!). Ilene totally bowled me over when she brought out Bonnie’s 1990 baby announcement – a folded diaper with a diaper pin in it (don’t know where we got the time to do that with a new baby!). She also brought a holiday photo card of Laura and Bonnie when we measured their ages in single digits.

Oh, how I wish I had a photo of that moment, but my camera was in the kitchen and my path was mobbed with visitors (a good thing), as it was most of the afternoon. Next year I’ll remember to ask someone to take photos. I did manage to take a few pictures of the desserts before they were totally wiped out. Do you think there’s another Oreo Cookie Cake painting in my future?

Now I face the challenging task of whittling down these 2016 Oreo Cookie Contest entries to the finalists (so we have more room to eat!), photographing them, and choosing the winner.

All in all, it was a successful Open Studio weekend. So thanks again, and hope to see you next year – if not before then. My door is always open.

Open Studio Invitation

March 19, 2016 by Beverly

It’s that time of the year again – Open Studio time – and you’re all invited!

Saturday, April 16th & Sunday, April 17th
11 am to 5pm

Beverly’s Home Studio
36 Sheldon Street
Ardsley, NY 10502

This is one of my favorite weekends of the year, when I get to spend all weekend talking about art with like minded people. What a luxury! I always enjoy the dialog and especially the feedback. There hasn’t been a year when I haven’t walked away feeling reinvigorated and brimming full of new ideas.

You’ll be able to see my latest vending machine paintings, including a new series of oversized single candy bars. I have been working hard on this series so the paintings can dry in time to hang for the show. And you can see all the paintings from my last 30 Paintings in 30 days Challenge.

I just started a vegetable painting (horror of horrors! a healthy food), featuring a line of cut avocados from a Manhattan salad bar. With its dramatic composition, this image was practically crying out, “Paint me, paint me,” and so I am. It is my first full size vegetable painting in a very long time.

Of course, I will be sponsoring my annual Oreo Cookie Contest. Everyone can enter by just taking a bite. Come one, come all, and bring your kids and grandkids! They always have a great time. Where else can you bring your whole family to eat Oreos and look at art in one visit? I paint the winning Oreo bite, and name the painting after the biter. You can see a table full of past entries and the 2015 winner, Blake’s Bite, in previous posts.

For those people with more sophisticated palates, we’ll also have our favorite desserts (what else?) on hand from Riviera Bake House in Ardsley. Thank you, Bonnie, for handling this every year!

My Open Studio is part of the 2016 RiverArts Studio Tour, and I’ll have maps on hand which show the locations of the other 80 participating artists.

I’ll post a construction update closer to the event to help you navigate around the Ardsley bridge construction. Right now, this only effects people coming northbound on the Sawmill River Parkway (take Exit #16 at Lawrence Street since Exit #17 to Ardsley is closed). So please check my blog a few days before the tour, and contact me if you have any questions.

I look forward to seeing you soon!