#StudioTour | 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.

Thank you RiverArts!

May 11, 2016 by Beverly

Sometimes things in life have unanticipated consequences, many of them positive. Our 1997 move to a home in Ardsley from a smaller townhouse changed my artistic life.

After two years, I transformed the living room with its 3 walls of natural light pouring through the windows into my studio. I started painting regularly and soon had a body of work to show.

So I decided to have my first Open Studio and participate in the RiverArts Studio Tour. RiverArts is dynamic and growing non-profit organization serving the Rivertowns of Hastings, Dobbs Ferry, Irvington and Ardsley.

That was over 15 years ago. The successful expansion of this event (now 80 artists strong) and RiverArts itself is reflected in this beautiful 4 page multi-color brochure featuring a painting by every artist on the tour. Mentally contrast this with the 1999 2-color single page flyer with a map and list. (You’ll have to your imagination since I can’t find the old pdf).

Now let me introduce you to Jen Moore Smith, the producer of the 2016 RiverArts Studio Tour, a huge task that has grown to include three preview exhibitions in different venues during the month of April, a Saturday night artist reception, a closing reception, and an extensive Studio Tour website including bios/statements and multiple images from each artist. Just uploading 400 images was a big task!

And Jennifer did her job gracefully and thoroughly from start to finish, always smiling, never losing her sense of humor. Bravo Jennifer! As the tour continues to grow in size and complexity, hopefully the management of the tour will be split among a multiple people.

And did I mention that these events served food? Wonderful food and a lot of it too, which you can see in the photos from the Hastings Municipal Building Preview Exhibition, where one of my prints was shown. This event was free and open to the public. (Why do I keep thinking Last Supper when I look at the first photo?)

Here’s the lady who was responsible for this banquet, Patricia van Essche. She recently joined the RiverArts Board and this elaborately presented food magically appeared this year. As you can see, she did a great job! Now my husband looks forward to these events with newfound enthusiasm.

I want to take a moment to say thank you to Jennifer Moore Smith, the unsung hero of the tour, to Doug Marouk-Coe, the Executive Director of RiverArts, as well as the Board, and to all the volunteers who made this event possible. A special thanks to Patricia, who sponsored a successful artist lunch at her house in March, and looks out for all of the artists in the community like our mother hen.

I look forward to all the upcoming RiverArts events, especially the Music Tour, which is listed on the website. With so much going on, it’s an exciting time for RiverArts and the Rivertowns.