September, 2015 | Beverly Shipko, Artist

Day 26. Christo in Central Park

September 29, 2015 by Beverly

I’m still working on my Day 26 painting, Christo in Central Park.

Maybe I was overconfident after yesterday’s terrific success, 1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer (Day 25). And perhaps I was impatient to get onto the next painting.

Last night, I developed a good plan for my Day 26 painting of Christo’s Gates in Central Park, featuring the King Jagiello Monument which is prominently located at the top of a hill near Belvedere Castle. Sketch, put in a light blue acrylic underpainting, lay some of the the dark brown foreground in, and let it dry overnight before putting in all those tiny little branches and shrubbery.

So far, so good, so I thought.

This morning I took up where I left off, but didn’t stick to the plan, making several unworkable mistakes – at least for now. Right away I realized two things needed to be corrected: the blue underpainting was too light and the dark brown should have been black.

Instead of darkening the blue background first, I impulsively got out my black paint (which takes a while to dry) and repainted some of the trees. Then I worked on the sky, which is now too blue, and ended up nicking the wet black oil paint in a few spots.

After I put in some of the foreground color (too much of it, nicking another black tree along the way), I decided that I liked this painting better without the color, but I can’t take it out yet since the strong, wet colors are bleeding into each other.

So it’s time to stop, let this dry, regroup and move on. Next week, I’ll come back to this after the Challenge is over. Right now I am thinking this would make a great sketch.

Hope you stop by to see the final work.

Day 25. Classic 1959 Dodge

September 28, 2015 by Beverly

"1959 Dodge Comet Classic Car" by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

“1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.

That’s the case with this painting. I was tempted just to post this without saying anything, but I don’t have it in me. However, I will keep this short.

When I look at this painting in person, I feel really happy. In Marie Kondo’s jargon, this sparks joy. And a lot of it.

Why, you may ask? It has such presence, which I hope you can see in the photo. And the whole process of creating this painting was joyful from beginning to end, which is why I spent an extra half day today working on it. After all, you can take the girl out of the Motor City, but you can’t take the Motor City out of the girl.

Back to work. See you tomorrow.

Day 24. Salmon in Red, White & Black

September 27, 2015 by Beverly

Day 24 marked another first in the Challege: my first entrée ever, salmon.

The full title of this painting is Salmon in Red, White and Black, since the colors are such a big part of this piece. (I’ve got Whistler’s Mother on the brain, which he formally titled Arrangement in Grey and Black.)

“Salmon in Red, White and Black” by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

This past February, I was having lunch with my college friend, Lynn Hilkene, who still lives in Ann Arbor and goes to all the Michigan football games. (One day I’m going to go with her!) We met for a long lunch at the Beverly Hills Grill in Southfield, MI, where we sat for hours chatting a mile a minute.

I remember this particular lunch because we talked about the Challenge, when resulted in my Top 10 Lessons Learned post. After taking our obligatory photos, we ordered our favorite foods. In my case, it’s the salmon.

When my meal came, I was struck by the strong graphic quality of the composition on the table before me – the squares of the plate and napkins softened by the the circles of the glass and dressing cup and saucer, and the dramatic contrast of darks and lights. I considered the side views through the camera LED screen, but they didn’t look as compelling to me.

This was an ambitious choice because it was an entrée, which included a glass with ice cubes and a submerged spoon, either of which could have been a subject on its own. Here I was trying try to limit myself to simple paintings, and then I do the exact opposite.

The evolution of Salmon in Red, White and Black is rather interesting and I’ll show you why. I started with a detailed drawing, put in the background and shadows, and used a red background more evocative of the mahogany table appearing black in the photo. My intention was to darken the red with a deep brown. At this point, I actually thought about turning this into a gresaille painting (all greys to imitate sculpture, except for the crimson). I’m still wondering how it would have looked in greytones. What do you think?

Then I went back with the original plan and started adding in color beginning with the lemons and salmon.

I didn’t finish this in one day (probably shouldn’t have taken that hour off yesterday), and here’s what greeted me this morning. For a few hours, I worked on the glass, cup and spoon, and brought the color intensity of the salmon and vegetables up to the level of the lemons (which is more evident in person). My last step was to add the highlights to the green beans and deepen the shadows.

I have to stop to get ready for a RiverArts fund-raising party where my Oreo Mandala print is being auctioned off today. This is probably a good thing since the painting looks fresh and lively.

While I am still several days behind schedule, I am very happy with my first entrée of plated food, potentially opening a new door for a series. As with many of my paintings this Challenge, they look better in person, and this one does too. So stop by and see for yourself.

Later today, I’ll be working on another painting inspired by a Michigan trip. Until tomorrow.

Day 23. Star Tart

September 26, 2015 by Beverly

I love the patterns of the blueberries, strawberries and kiwi on Star Tart, which somehow reminds me of folk art quilts.

The real fruit tart is from our favorite bakery, Riviera Bake House here in Ardsley. I have painted various versions of tarts before, but never one straight on, from the top down like this one.

“Star Tart”, by Beverly Shipko, Oil painting on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

Maybe I got inspired by similar views from previous paintings – Day 11 Pomegranate Half, Day 6 Crumbs Praline Cupcake, and Day 5 M&M Cupcake, which are also top down views. Apparently I like painting circular compositions on square panels.

Today’s challenge was to capture the dimensional quality of the tart that is implicitly built into angled side views, which are easier to paint in some respects. That’s probably why I had this old photo lying around for 12 years (taken with my first digital camera) and never did anything with it until now.

I started with the background and the crust, and then moved progressively inward, as you can see in these photos. The order of the colors mirrors the physical construction of the tart, almost as if I was the baker. First you start with the tart crust and the filling, then you add the kiwi, followed by the strawberries, and finally a mass of blueberries. For some reason, my favorite part was painting the kiwi seeds. I don’t know why they were just fun to paint, maybe simply because they brought the kiwi slices to life.

My plan of attack also took into account the bleeding color factor, and started with the colors that bleed the least (white, blue, ochre, green) and end with colors that bleed the most (red and indigo blue). Being a daily painting, I proceeded slowly and methodically since there was little room for error. At the end, I went back to tighten some areas up, darken the shadows, and add the highlights to make the glaze shine.

Now that my dessert craving is temporarily satisfied, I’ll look elsewhere tomorrow. Any suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by.

Day 22. Yosemite Sequoia

September 25, 2015 by Beverly

In keeping with the Western vacation theme that I began yesterday with my Day 21 Phoenix Sunset, here is the majestic Yosemite Seqouia. I enjoyed painting these trees, a subject I revisit once in a while. And I got to relive another trip with stunning scenery.

“Yosemite Sequoia” by Beverly Shipko, Oil and acrylic on cradled wood panel, 7 x 5 inches

Recently I was watching the evening news which did a piece on the mighty sequoias and how they are being stressed by the drought. I learned an intriguing fact – that each tree requires about 700 gallons of water a day!

So sequoias were top of mind, and I began thinking about our recent trip to Mariposa Grove in Yosemite in May – which was absolutely breathtaking. Mariposa Grove is a sequoia grove (the largest in the park with several hundred mature sequoias) in the southernmost part of Yosemite National Park in California. It’s a unique experience to walk through the park in the morning as the sun rises, when you can hear your own footsteps in the quiet before mobs of tourists arrive.

For those of you who have never seen a sequoia, they are huge! They are so big that it’s almost impossible to get a interesting photo of a whole tree (which is why the above photo only shows the lower half of the tree). To give you some idea of the scale, here I am standing against the roots of a fallen sequoia, and this was one of the smaller trees.

Here’s the view of the top of a sequoia that inspired today’s painting. I began with my customary drawing on wood panel, and applied two light washes of blue acrylic underpainting for the sky, using a wet paper towel. This decision was critical to doing this Challenge painting since there was no way I could paint the background and tiny leaves entirely in oil paint in one day without drying time in between layers.

In the end, this took a lot longer than expected, and I’m falling further behind in the Challenge. I could keep working on it and adding more detail, but the painting looks really fresh in person, and I’m afraid of overworking it. So I am putting down my paint brush.

Besides, I haven’t started applying paint to today’s panel. I’m working on my Day 23 painting, and it’s actually Day 25. (It was a terrific week but I lost 3 days because of the holidays, a stunning wedding, and Laura’s visit.) I have to find a way to catch up. I should probably start by writing shorter blog posts. Maybe it’s time to do another drawing.

Any suggestions? Wish me luck! Thanks for visiting.

Day 21. Phoenix Sunset

September 22, 2015 by Beverly

Even though I have a whole table full of ideas, I wasn’t sure what to paint for Day 21. I decided to go with this uplifting Phoenix Sunset that brought back memories of a wonderful trip to Arizona, with its spectacular outdoor beauty.

“Phoenix Desert Sunset” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

The inspiration came from a visit to the Phoenix Desert Botanical Garden to see the Dale Chihuly Exhibit with the family in 2009. Chihuly did a masterful job of integrating his glass sculptures into the desert environment, livening up the rugged terrain with splashes of vibrant color.

Jay and I had a mini-reunion with his two sisters, Leslie Dolin from Portland, Oregon (middle), and Pam Kanter, from Kansas City, Missouri (right). Look a little closer and you can see 3 Chihuily lime green glass cactus sculptures in the background.

Here’s the whole group with spouses (well, almost the whole group since I’m the photographer), starting on the left, with Leslie, Bill Kanter, Jay, Pam, and Leigh Dolin. With everyone in the family so geographically scattered, it’s always special when we get together.

We stayed until sunset when the cacti were silhouetted against the expansive Western sky. Late last night I started the painting and this is what greeted me in the morning.

As I put worked on capturing more of the drama of the sky and adding details of the brush on the ground, I felt like I was reliving my vacation. What a nice way to spend Day 21 of the Challenge!

Now I’m re-thinking my plan for tomorrow. See you then.

Day 20 of 30. Cheesecake Sampler

September 20, 2015 by Beverly

Cheesecake Sampler is still a work in progress.

We’re off to a wedding shortly, which is maybe a good thing in this case. That way I can come back later with a fresh eye and develop a plan for finishing this – with your help.

The challenge here is to add enough details to the cheesecake slices without overworking the piece and keeping it fresh. Right now I like the openness and airiness of the designs, and am concerned if I keep going too far, it will start feeling dense. I’m having a good time channeling Jackson Pollock in this food painting.

I will clean up the edges of the swirls on the cake, and maybe the knife. Maybe make the red darker in spots. At the moment, the neutral grey acrylic underpainting is the background. It’s smooth and unobtrusive, so perhaps I’ll leave it, but I’m not sure. (Excuse the cast shadow along the bottom from the easel.)

What would you do next on this painting, especially with the background? Thanks for your help.

Day 19. Blueberry Pie

September 19, 2015 by Beverly

After yesterday’s Apple Cranberry Pie Server, I got a craving for more pie.

"Blueberry Pie" by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

“Cherry Pie” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

Not just any pie, but a partially eaten with a proverbial bite taken out.

I liked the idea of cropping the composition and focusing on the most most visually captivating part of the pie. Cherry Pie is about the oozing goo that comes with eating a big piece. While I considered coming in even closer, it wasn’t clear the pie would be recognizable as pie, so I filed the concept away in my notebook for future Challenges.

The idea was to immortalize this old-fashioned lattice pie, from our favorite bakery, Rivierabake House in Ardsley. Riviera still weaves strips of crust together, unlike many commercial pies that are die-cut from a flat piece of dough. I forgot how difficult it is to paint pie crust with its woven dough and subtle colors. In many respects, Day 18’s Apple Cranberry Pie Server was easier to paint since it’s broken up by the contrasting metal spatula.

Over time, my pie paintings have transitioned from more traditional compositions (as far back as 2003) set against a larger neutral background to more focused perspectives. You can see the progression here. What approach appeals to you? It would be interesting to hear your thoughts.

“Cherry Pie” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

“Apple Cranberry Pie Server” by Beverly Shipko,
Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

When I first saw Cherry Pie this morning after finishing it last night, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with this painting. Of course, I have to control the urge to keep fixing little details, but I am learning…

I am puzzled by one thing – and that’s digital photography . The two pie paintings from the Challenge look so much better in person than in photographs, as do many of my other paintings. This was confirmed by my daughter, Laura, who has a good eye and just came home yesterday for the weekend from Urbana, IL for a wedding.

I spent a lot of time trying to get the best image possible at various times of day, shooting at night, in the morning, with natural light, a natural spectrum lamp, incandescent light – and even a combination. Then I tried shooting these both with my iPhone and Nikon compact camera in various places – on an easel, the floor, in different rooms, and finally got the best shots I could against the Oreo Cookie brown walls of my studio. Maybe it’s time to take a digital photography course.

This whole experience shows that nothing replaces experiencing original artwork in person. Now that I’ve vented my frustration and feel better (thanks for listening!), I realize it’s time to move on.

Have a great day! See you tomorrow for Day 20.

Day 18. Apple Cranberry Pie Server

September 18, 2015 by Beverly

The concept of painting a pie server in action has intrigued me for over a decade. I took a close-up photo of a messy pie cutter for a painting of a whole pie, but didn’t have the guts to paint it as a stand-alone work.

Until now. I finally tried it with Apple Cranberry Pie Server. That’s what this Challenge is all about – to explore and be adventuresome, without being too attached to the outcome. Some might even say it’s to take a bite out of life.

“Apple Cranberry Pie Server” painting by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

And I want to thank one of my loyal readers in Urbana, Pei-Chen, for reminding me. This week I was losing focus and getting rather frustrated over the lack of time to paint, not to mention the fact I was behind on a few paintings. (I still have to circle back to Day 16, but that’s another story.) She suggested that I read my blog posts on overcoming the challenges of the Challenge. I did, and I felt completely rejuvenated.

So I took my own advice from a recent post for Day 7 Vending Machine, which I am posting again here, as much as for myself as for you.

Stay calm
Simplify the details
Focus on the net impression; don’t look at every crooked line
Plan a strategy,
Be bold not timid
Just hunker down to pull the painting off
Put aside your skepticism

It worked.

Day 17. Happy Birthday, Mom!

September 17, 2015 by Beverly

To celebrate this very special day, I painted your favorite cupcake from Kroger. Surprised, Mom?

“Happy Birthday! Cupcake” by Beverly Shipko, Acrylic on wood cradled panel, 7 x 5 inches

Happy 90th Birthday – and welcome to your virtual birthday party! (Aren’t you glad I didn’t put 90th in the headline, Mom?)

And look who just joined the party!

Jay and Laura Sloofman

Stuart and Mary Jane Shipko

Bonnie Sloofman, Chloe and Zach Shipko

As with all parties, it took a lot of planning to make this happen today. There are so many little details – and I just realized I forgot the flowers!

And your gift, the Happy Birthday Cupcake painting, didn’t come easily either with everything that was going on here this week. I hope you like it.

For the first time in years, I had to switch to acrylic paints since it dries quickly (too quickly sometimes), allowing for corrections in an hour, and cleans up easily with water. Besides, the vibrant, dayglow colors of the Krogers cupcake just screamed for these acrylics, which I happened to have on hand (amazingly not dried out after 15 years!).

I started with the Happy Birthday decoration, which worked well with the Liquitex magenta. Along the way, I decided to leave the table white so this painting wouldn’t look too busy. Unlike my typical oil painting sessions, this one was done on the kitchen table with a cup of water close by to keep my brushes from drying out.

For those of you who haven’t met my mother before, in all the excitement I forgot to formally introduce you to Dot, A Mom Who Loves Sports, and the winner of my 2014 Sports Artist Award. At the risk of sounding like a cliche, she is my anchor who still keeps me focused on the big picture and the important things in life.

Dot, we hope you are enjoying the party. It’s time for you to make a wish and blow out the candles.

We love you (even though we don’t say it enough) and wanted to show you how much you are appreciated. Have a wonderful day!

Day 15. Apples and Honey

September 16, 2015 by Beverly

Too busy celebrating Rosh Hashana. Check back soon.

Day 14. Snail Shells

September 16, 2015 by Beverly

Souvenirs from our trip to the beach.

The spiral imagery of Snail Shells has fascinated me since I was a kid collecting sea shells on the Florida beach. The excitement of finding shells on Jones Beach is still there. Maybe it’s the hunt, but I think it’s more about discovering unexpected shapes, colors and textures.

This drawing actually shows the front and back of two different, but similar, sea shells.

Day 13. Florence

September 15, 2015 by Beverly

A trip down memory lane. Florence depicts the view from our room in the Hotel Calzaiuoli, right in the heart of Florence.

Jay and I stayed in the same hotel over 30 years ago right down the block from the the majestic Duomo. What a great location!

I love this city, which is why I took several art history courses concentrating just on Florentine art and the Medici. Maybe one day soon we’ll go back. Even if we don’t, I think I’ll paint this view in color with its rhythmic terra-cotta roofs and contrasting vanilla stucco walls.

Tony Bennett sings about leaving his heart in San Francisco. I left my heart in Florence.

See you tomorrow!

Day 12. Jay’s Spatulas

September 14, 2015 by Beverly

Here’s a typical scene that greets me in the kitchen when I come down for breakfast.

“Jay’s Spatulas” by Beverly Shipko, Pencil drawing on bristol board, 6 x 6 inches

You see, Jay and I have a deal. I load the dishwater at night and he unloads it in the morning. For many years, Jay has meticulously arranged the still wet utensils on paper towels to air dry, altering their positions (handle down, handle up) so they collectively take up the least amount of space on the counter (thereby using less paper towel). I think he picked this habit up during his early years working at Al Baker’s Restaurant in St. Louis and at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration, where he earned his undergraduate degree. Certainly, my haphazard way of laying out utensils hasn’t rubbed off on him. Sometime he feels that I don’t appreciate how he clean and organized he keeps the kitchen.

I decided it was time to honor one of Jay’s temporary spatula installations in the above drawing of Jay’s Spatulas, based on the photo below from November, 2014.

As Day 12 approached, I wasn’t sure whether to do a pencil drawing or painting. If I went with the pencil drawing, would I go with graphite alone or add in touches of color, using my recently rediscovered pack of Prismacolor pencils hiding in the basement? I wasn’t sure how I felt about this as a painting, so I went with the drawing and decided to leave the colored pencils for another time.

As I started drawing, I soon found out that less was more. For whatever reason, I was drawn to the linear quality of the outlines, and started liking the drawing less when I used more shading. So I put my gum eraser to good use and took out much of the chiaroscuro representing the black color of the utensils. Along the way, I was tempted again to add touches of yellow and purple, but decided to save that for another time.

For the past few years, I have been photographing these morning compositions. Jay now says he keeps doing them because I like them (and admittedly I miss them when he is away playing bridge.) But I would prefer to think he executes these carefully thought out arrangements as a creative outlet. Certainly, Jay seems to be more conscious of his designs since I starting recording them, and has even upped his game over time by playing with more colors, different shaped kitchen tools and gadgets, and by including fruits and vegetables.

Previously, I have talked about creative family members – Bonnie, another food artist in the family, and Mom, the sports artist. While I could also refer to Jay as a food and sports artist, I would rather add Jay to this illustrious list as the more distinctive, unique Spatula Artist, a title that he alone absolutely owns.

Remember that you heard it here first: Jay Sloofman, Spatula Artist. Perhaps I should go out and make him business cards…

Maybe I’ll make some sort of photo book of his best creations, or maybe make it available as a free download. And I will dedicate it to all the under-appreciated husbands in America. So, do you think this has the potential to make the New York Times best seller list?

That’s a long way off for now. And Day 13 is fast approaching – way too fast. There aren’t enough hours in the day.

Day 10. Tootsie Rolls

September 14, 2015 by Beverly

I already had candy on the brain, as you know from Day 7’s Vending Machine. The immediate inspiration for Three Mini Tootsie Rolls, however, was a conversation that I had with Ed Price, an old and dear friend who I met at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern when we were getting our MBAs. We don’t talk that often, but when we do, it’s a marathon!

“Three Mini Tootsie Rolls” by Beverly Shipko, Oil sketch on cradled wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

Ed and I were talking about eating well and how that fits (or doesn’t fit) with my decadent paintings. He mentioned that his fiancé, Debbie, (now wife – congratulations to both of you!), snacks on a little Tootsie Roll every day despite the fact that everything else she eats is wholesome and healthy.

It turns out her father’s daily routine included a mini Tootsie Roll, and Debbie is carrying on the family tradition in memory of her father. I wish I could think of a simple ritual to honor my father every day, but I’ll have to settle for watching Washington Week every Friday which was how we spent some time together (along with moderator Paul Duke).

I took so many photos of these little chocolate Tootsie Rolls (which Tootsie Industries actually refers to as Midgees; who knew?) on multiple days to get this layout. It turned out once again, that simpler was better, and I eliminated a bowl of mini Tootsie Rolls that was overly complicated.

As usual, my desire for perfection is showing. I want to keep fine-tuning the background color, the shading and the logos, but it’s time to stop and move on. I have to remember that one of the reasons I am doing the Challenge is to get in the habit of learning when to stop and to avoid overworking paintings (having said that, I confess there is one letter or two that I’ll probably clean up tomorrow….).

After I began painting today, I thought about putting part of a Tootsie Roll bag in the composition to add contrast and interest. Alas, it was too late for this painting. So that’s something I plan on trying later on this month.

I hope to see you again soon.