Month: January 2015

Day 30 of the 30/30 Challenge – Double York Egg Cooking

By popular demand, I returned to the double yolk egg, this time cooking in the pan. This egg is from the same lucky carton as my first Double Yolk painting on Day 14, about two weeks ago. Said another way, that’s 16 paintings ago!

Day 30. "Double Yolk Egg Cooking" by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

Day 30. “Double Yolk Egg Cooking” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

It’s almost hard to believe that Double Yolk Egg Cooking was a rough pencil sketch only yesterday. The transformation in one day to from sketch to  finished painting still amazes me, even after doing this almost 30 times. I have never painted this fast or easily before.

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Double Yolk Egg Cooking is a painting with an unusual combination of different materials and textures – metal pan and partially cooked food. The hardest part was capturing the egg in its raw, transparent form as well as cooked around the outside edges.

To help me figure this out, I got out my first Double Yolk Egg from Day 14 to look at how I depicted a raw egg. In this version, I used a little more cadmium yellow in the transparent part of the egg.

Day 14. "Double Yolk Egg" by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

Day 14. “Double Yolk Egg” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

I’ve been going back and forth trying to figure out which one I like best. They both look so different. The presence of the pan completely changes the feeling. What is your favorite?

Your feedback would be much appreciated since I have one more double yolk egg sketched out that I had planned for tomorrow, although technically today was the last day of the Challenge. Instead, all participants will be making a collage from their 30 paintings, which should be interesting. It certainly will provide an opportunity to look back on all we have accomplished, and give us some closure.

While I have a lot to say about what I learned from this whole experience, it won’t be tonight since it’s already 1:30am and I have to get up early tomorrow. My weekend is packed with non-painting activities (NY Philharmonic concert, a play, Super Bowl party, and a baby naming).  While I am sure everything will be fun, I am missing my daily paintings already.

See you tomorrow!

Day 29 of the 30/30 Challenge – Hostess

It’s been over 15 years since I attempted a painting of a transparent wrapper. Capturing the crinkles and reflections of the delicate material is a technical challenge. I felt like I rose to the occasion on Day 29 with this Hostess Cupcake with Wrapper.

Day 29. "Hostess Cupcake with Wrapper" by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches.

Day 29. “Hostess Cupcake with Wrapper” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches.

When I came downstairs and looked at the Strawberry Blackberry Cheesecake from Day 28, I realized what a tough act it was to follow. It was so vibrant and in your face. In retrospect, it was a good painting to save for the end of the challenge. This Hostess Cupcake painting is so much more subtle and full of nuances, but still striking in a different way.

I spent a lot of time studying the actual Hostess cupcake and the source photo. I wanted to make sure that I grasped the wrapper’s structure with all its folds and dents. It was important to identify the most prominent features that defined the image, and to differentiate the cupcake itself from its bold shadow that dominated the photo I was using.

To show you the process, I just took this picture, and I am struck by how different the wrapped cupcake looks against a teal background, with the white card becoming a major element. Something to contemplate for a post-Challenge world.

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For the first time during the Challenge, I was tempted to stop after this preliminary sketch on the panel. I thought about simply darkening the cupcake so the squiggles popped, and adding the other shadows.

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Then I decided I missed the red Hostess logos (forgetting about my red drawing pencils in the basement). I scanned and copied this sketch before moving ahead, just in case I wanted to go back to it.

Hostess Cupcake with Wrapper isn’t really about the food, it’s about the light – the reflections, highlights, shadows and contrasts. As an artist, it was about finding a way to depict the various whites and maintaining the luminosity that comes with a sunny day. I ended up adding a touch of lemon yellow to the background so the squiggle looked truly white. This painting is also about nostalgia over an American icon that almost disappeared when Hostess declared bankruptcy. Lucky for me, Hostess came back from the dead.

Since I let myself get sidetracked during the day, I worked on this late into the night. As the Challenge is winding down, real life is starting to creep back in. I’m not ready for it yet.

Thanks for stopping by. On to Day 30.

Day 28 of the 30/30 Challenge – Cheesecake

In 2001, Jay and I discovered Pasticceria Bruno in Greenwich Village while looking for parking near O.K. Harris, where I was showing my paintings for the first time. Bruno’s Bakery and Cafe was an independent neighborhood destination with the most luscious displays, packed full of beautifully decorated pastries, tarts, and cakes. What a selection! Not only did everything have a distinctive look to it, but it tasted great too.

That was the first of many visits to Bruno over a decade before O.K. Harris closed last June after 45 years in business. And almost every time, Jay ordered something with fruit. This particular painting, called Strawberry Blackberry Cheesecake, came from a photo I took on September 11, 2010 when we took in some shows at O.K. Harris, ate at Bruno, and then went to the 9/11 Tribute in Lights to see the twin beams of light representing the World Trade Center.

Day 28. "Strawberry Blackberry Cheesecake" by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches.

Day 28. “Strawberry Blackberry Cheesecake” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches.

The idea of this painting was to capture the freshness of the ripe, plump fruit, as well as the reflections that come from being in a brightly lit bakery case. I choose this particular dessert for the interplay of the green leaves against the red strawberries (ring-around-the rosie anyone?). This painting had a lot of details in it (think strawberry seeds!) and took a day and a half, beginning with the sketch you see here.

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I am pleased with the final painting. Of course, there are small things I would have changed if I had more time (yada yada), but I’m not sure any of it would affect the net impression. So I made peace with that (how I matured in a month!), and am just enjoying the painting. It feels like the fruit is the hero, which is what I was going for, and is what Bruno does so well. Or should I say did…

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While I was researching Bruno’s specific location for this post, I discovered something that made me sad. It turns out this store closed at the end of 2014, after over 20 years of business in that location.

With OK Harris and Bruno both shuttering its doors, it feels like an end of an era in more ways than one. Certainly the character of the neighborhood changed since 2001 with more national chains than ever and a constantly expanding NYU. It feels like that chapter in my life has officially ended, and a new one is about to begin.

So it is particularly fitting that I chose this painting for Day 28, which is doubling as my homage to Pasticceria Bruno of Greenwich Village, one of the last family run bakeries in the neighborhood.

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Time to turn my attention to tomorrow and Day 29. Only two days left and too many ideas to choose from. A nice problem to have, isn’t it?

Day 27 of the 30/30 Challenge – Crane

With the frigid temperatures in New York today, I decided to warm things up with this painting, Crane at Sunset. I remember exactly when and where I took the photo that inspired this painting.

Day 27. "Crane at Sunset" by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 7 x 5 inches.

Day 27. “Crane at Sunset” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 7 x 5 inches.

Seven years ago in February, I decided to visit Marlene, one of my oldest and dearest friends, down in Sarasota. Marlene and I met in French class at the University of Michigan in 1973; both of us needed a second language to get our masters degrees. While it’s always special to see Marlene, I must admit it was also nice to escape to warm weather. I left the deep freeze here and stepped off the plane in balmy temperatures a short time later. Marlene met me at the Tampa airport and whisked me off to the impressive Salvador Dali Museum, which I had last seen in its Cleveland home, and has since moved to its permanent facility. It was the start of a beautiful few days in a wonderful place with a terrific friend. What’s not to like?

A few days later, Marlene suggested that we go to the nearby beach to watch the sunset before I left. It was the last item left on my to do list, and Marlene wanted to check it off. It was a clear night and the sky was bathed in the orange glow of the sun as it disappeared into the horizon. All of a sudden, a crane magically appeared on the beach, walking right in front of us. I couldn’t believe it! I was so excited that I almost missed the photo op. But I quickly recovered, grabbed my camera, and got one shot off before the crane flew away.

I always thought this image looked like a Hallmark greeting card, almost a cliche, so I never painted it. In the spirit of the Challenge, however, I went ahead and tried something I wouldn’t have done otherwise, to see what would happen in a day.

First I painted in the bands of color before adding the crane in the foreground. My goal was to capture the essence of the backlit crane against the sunset without driving myself crazy painting every wave. I decided to stop when the painting started to feel fussy. This is a nice souvenir to have of that trip. After going through all those striking Sarasota photos, I can see why Marlene left Philly for points south.

Since I am biased and incapable of being objective about this painting, I would appreciate hearing from you. What could I have done with this to make it feel less greeting-card like? Or, maybe that’s a good thing? Let me know what you think.

Thanks. See you tomorrow.

Day 26 of the 30/30 Challenge- Reese’s

Perhaps I was a bit overly ambitious tackling this painting in one day, but I think it paid off. After all, it’s only 1:30am and I can always sleep next week after the Challenge is over…

While I have painted candy before, this is the first piece I have done with a wrapper.  I was afraid I wouldn’t get it right. Today I didn’t let that fear stop me from trying something new. I figured I didn’t have much to lose since it’s only an investment of one day, and a lot to gain. Wrappers and packaging could open up a whole different direction for my food paintings. Besides, think of all that other leftover Halloween candy that I could have put to good use!

Day 26. "Reese's Peanut Butter Cup" by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

Day 26. “Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

This particular brand evokes a lot of memories for me, only they are not particularly fond ones (definitely not from childhood).  I used to think of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups as the enemy when I was the assistant account executive on the M&M Mars account at DMB&B Advertising Agency. At the time, my brand assignment was Twix Cookie Bars, a direct competitor to Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and every month Reese’s beat us in the Nielsen market share report.

If you’re wondering why I didn’t paint Twix instead, know that I tried to set up a still life, but the long bar shape just wasn’t as interesting as the circle. Of course, I will eventually paint Twix because of my sentimental attachment, just not today. I  liked the way the Reese’s wrapper opened on the first try, and how the cup was emerging – almost like an action shot. This is a candy that is about to be eaten.

Things went pretty smoothly considering this was new to me. I used a photo for the composition, and actual candy to match the color. Next time I will approach the logo and wrapper slightly differently. I started painting the outline of the Reese’s logo, for some reason, when I should have started with the yellow, then the outline. As a result, I lost a lot of time repainting the logo, which then got too wet to fix completely.

I am happy with the painting, so much so that I am considering another wrapper painting. I am hesitating because the one I am thinking of has multiple logos on it and is transparent. I am certainly a glutton for punishment!

Hope you’re safe and warm wherever you are, and unscathed by this blizzard. Tomorrow should be a great day to stay indoors and paint, especially if we get the 12 inches that is being predicted. Thanks for stopping by.

Day 25 of the 30/30 Challenge – Brownie

How’s this for chocolate decadence? Those were the two words that came out of Jay’s mouth after he took his first look at Chocolate Brownie a la Mode.

If I know Jay, he’s thinking this would be a good way to reward himself after a day (more like two days) of shoveling from our nor’easter, which is underway. I’m thinking hot chocolate.

Day 25. "Chocolate Brownie a la Mode" by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

Day 25. “Chocolate Brownie a la Mode” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

This brownie has been on my mind since I took the photo in September, 2014. I wasn’t sure about painting a large version of it, but decided to try it for the 30/30 Challenge. After I ordered my dinner at Sweet Lorraines, one of my favorite restaurants near my mom in Michigan, I couldn’t resist going over to peruse the dessert tray – always a pleasureful experience.  Some day I’ll paint the whole tray, but in the meantime, this dessert caught my attention with its dripping chocolate.

One of the tricks to making this painting successful was to lay a solid foundation for the structure with a detailed drawing underneath.  I worked out the nuances of the drips and highlights in my head and on the panel.

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Before digging in with white and brown oil paints. I applied a thin wash of magenta acrylic underpainting, which comes through in the final painting. The magenta underpainting worked well with the Crumbs Devils Food Cupcake on Day 2, so I thought I would try it again. Then the secret ingredient was patience – lots of it too!

In the end, the time flew by quickly. Things came easily. Maybe all my previous experience with Oreo Cookies helped since they have a similar palette. In fact, I nicknamed the burnt umber I was using, “Oreo Cookie Brown”.  Since this was almost monochromatic, I also got a rest from all that brush cleaning with the Blueberry Cheesecake the day before.

I’m considering continuing with the chocolate theme. For all you chocoholics out there, be sure to come back tomorrow to feed your chocolate craving and reward yourself after battling this storm!