Uncategorized | Beverly Shipko, Artist

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 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 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.

Day 11. Pomegranate Half

September 11, 2015 by Beverly

After watching the moving 9/11 Memorial Service at the old World Trade Center site, I hesitated posting this Pomegranate Half painting since it felt a bit frivolous. Upon further reflection and a little research, I changed my mind.

“Pomegranate Half” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

The pomegranate has significant meaning in many world religions, both in the written word and in cultural traditions, relating to its most salient physical property – seeds, and lots of them, as you can see here.

According to Wikipedia and other sources, the ancient Egyptians regarded the pomegranate as a symbol of prosperity and ambition. In Greece, the pomegranate was seen by many as a symbol of life, marriage and rebirth as it pertains to the abduction story of Persephone by Hades, the god of the underworld.

Pomegranates were known in Ancient Israel as the fruits that were brought to Moses to show the fertility of the “promised land”. The pomegranate was the symbol of fertility in ancient Persian culture. Throughout the Christian world, it’s regarded as a symbol of life. Today, the pomegranate is regarded as a fruit with potential health benefits from its nutrients and phytochemicals.

Whatever the context, the pomegranate seems to be a powerful symbol of life, abundance and fertility (sounds a bit like my double yolk eggs.) And for that reason, I believe it’s most appropriate to post this painting on 9/11 to commemorate the lives that have been lost, and the resilience of the living. That point was driven home today as we listened to stories from survivors and family members who have moved on, but who will never forget those who perished. Over and over, they repeated that they hoped their loved ones would be proud of the people they have become, and the lives they are living.

And so today I dedicate this painting to life.

Day 9. Pomegranates

September 10, 2015 by Beverly

Pomegranates is my first fruit painting in years. Of course, I thoroughly enjoyed the remnants. To me, this fruit is as sweet as cake or candy!

“Pomegranates” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on wood panel, 5 x 7 inches.

I hadn’t been planning to paint this, but that changed when the mail came about two weeks ago.

It’s no secret that I am on a mission to get rid of 18 years of junk in the house. As soon as papers come into the house, I throw them out – a change from past behavior. So when I opened up a rather unremarkable, unsolicited package of Rosh Hashana cards, I found this one and stopped myself in the middle of tossing the cards out. I didn’t know why at the time, but I put this one on the dining room table (my work station for September).

With the rapidly approach Rosh Hashana holiday, I then started pondering pomegranates as a subject. They are colorful and have beautiful patterns when sliced open, both of which appeal to me. And I could use the painting as a holiday card or email. So I bought 2 pomegranates, sliced one open, and had a good time playing with compositions.

You would be surprised at how many photos (aka digital clutter) it takes to get one good one to paint. The pomegranate still life setups looked better in person than they did through the lens. When I realized they were too complicated to do in one day, I started taking pieces away until I ended up with simpler compositions, like this one.

My go-to color for the seeds was alizarin crimson, which I have never been able to mix. Fortunately, I had a new tube on hand. Ah, those seeds. It took me a while to get the hang of them, and I could still use some more practice capturing their translucent quality. The seeds were a change of pace from my typical dessert subjects, but I like to think of them as the crumbs that make the painting interesting. They were hard to paint, but not so hard that I got discouraged.

I liked watching this painting emerge today. At some point, I will do a square version of it to compare formats. Recently I have been thinking that the square format feels more contemporary. What do you think?

This is not the last pomegranate you’re going to see this month. I’m hooked in more ways than one.

End of Week 1.

September 9, 2015 by Beverly

I want to take a moment to reflect back on the week’s hard work – which seemed particularly appropriate since we just celebrated Labor Day.

Often when I tell people about the Challenge, they ask why? Just recently, a good friend asked why I put myself through this. And if you read about my Day 7 Vending Machine endeavor, you realize the validity of the question.

The next time someone asks, I’ll simply show them this photo and tell them it’s a labor of love.

The Challenge is an opportunity to paint as much as I can, practice a skill that I always want to improve, and experiment with subjects that I wouldn’t ordinarily consider to uncover new directions, which was the case with my double-yolk egg series (Days 14, 30, and 31). I’ll talk about the exuberant feeling I often get at the end of the day, a natural high just from the satisfaction of knowing I’ve accomplished the seemingly impossible in a few short hours.

In the last week, I already tried more things than I would have in 2 to 3 months working on larger canvases. The creative juices are flowing again, so much so that I have trouble sleeping with so many new creative ideas running around in my head. I keep pencil and paper near the bed to write everything down so I can sleep with confidence that I won’t lose any good concepts.

I am inspired and feel like I have recaptured the spirit of my own website tagline, “Take a bite out of life”. In the words of Marie Kondo, holding the paint brush sparks joy.

That’s more than enough incentive to eagerly move on to Week 2, and see what surprises are in store as I continue along this path. I hope you’ll join me.

Day 8. Eggs In-Sink

September 9, 2015 by Beverly

Sometimes you find paintings in the most unexpected places.

“Egg In-Sink” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches

One day last winter, I came downstairs to eat breakfast after Bonnie was finished (on December 12, 2014 to be exact; isn’t digital photography wonderful?), and this egg shell greeted me in the In-sink-erator, not an abnormal occurrence. At that moment, the sun came out, lit up the egg shells, highlighting the white edge against the earthy shell tone, and I grabbed my camera. The rest is history.

I think of this as a precursor to my egg series. Egg In-Sink depicts the egg-cracking stage, before anything else in these paintings can happen. You can read the Story Behind the Eggs here.

Egg Series from the 30/30 Challenge, Oil paintings on cradled panel, 5 x 7 inches.

Eggs In-Sink is rather monochromatic in tone. However, although I only used 3 colors (Payne’s grey, titanium white, and burnt siena), I still managed to use 14 brushes. The point here is that a deceptively simple subject can require more subtle and careful color mixing, not to mention paint application. And any painting with concentric circles like this one requires a lot of concentration.

For about 2 seconds I thought about naming this painting Eggs N’Sync, but I quickly realized I must be watching too much Justin Timberlake on TV. Besides, cutesy is not my style.

If you have any egg ideas or interesting egg photos, I would love to hear from you. Until then, it’s time to move on to the Day 9.

Day 7 of 30 – Vending Machine

September 7, 2015 by Beverly

There are a lot of firsts in this painting.

This is my first vending machine painting, my first food related painting on a black background (a color I rarely), the first work where my subject is half-submerged in shadows – and my first unfinished painting for the Challenge.

“Vending Machine” by Beverly Shipko, Oil sketch on wood panel, 5 x 7 inches

Vending Machine is also the first wrapped candy painting of this Challenge, a potential series I have been thinking of about since I did a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup during the January Challenge. I’ve had a Twix Bar lying around since Halloween, which I intended to paint since it was my account at DMB&B Advertising in my previous life. You can read more about my sentimental attachment to the candy industry here.

The choice of subject was actually inspired by a detour at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to a student show, where Jay and I saw a drawing of a whole vending machine. And that was the ahah! moment right before we moved on to the John Singer Sargent exhibit, our intended destination. Afterwards, the search for the right vending machine began. I never realized that all vending machines aren’t created equally. Jay found this one with the most iconic candy brands lined up all in a row, which is exactly what I was looking for.

Getting the initial sketch right was critical, so I studied many photos and actually packages, taking extra care setting up the structure and putting in the details.

I painted from the inside out, starting with the vibrant colors that brought the iconic logos to life, minimizing the chance of colors bleeding into one another. Then I put in the black rings, followed by the black background, which changes everything so it’s important not to wait too long.

There were so many details in those logos and wrappers that by mid-afternoon I was thinking maybe I bit off more than I could chew, that this was at least a 2-3 day painting, and I must have been crazy not to practice on a simpler vending machine painting with just one bar, like the Twix photo I was using as a reference. I even considered just doing a Twix drawing (which I used to call dinner during those late office nights) and just calling it a day.

But the 4-bar composition intrigued me from the moment I took the photos of our old office vending machine. The repetition of the circular wires holding the candies add a rhythm with their cast shadows and provide a unifying pattern – so I kept going. I drew on some lessons learned from my first Challenge:

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

This was one of the pivotal decisions I faced: Do I paint the bars as if they completely lit in the foreground, or stick to my original vision and put in shadows so they recede and are dramatically lit, which seemed to be more difficult than I had time for? I decided to go for the drama – and it’s drama that I got for the next few hours as I experimented with one color after another… after another…. for the shadows (while secretly wishing I had bought that metallic oil paint for the Twix wrapper.)

The question for all you artists out there: What would you have done? In retrospect, I was in a pretty good place at this point, but maybe didn’t know it. Perhaps I should have skipped the shadows or changed the background and the bottom strip colors to charcoal grey. I would appreciate the feedback.

Here’s where I was when I got up the next morning. The Reese’s was still muddy and the Twix was just sitting there.

I spent a few more hours experimenting with the shadows, and decided to call it a day since I was jeopardizing my next painting. At this point, the paint was too thick and wet, and I wasn’t adding any value.

I wish I had more time on this painting so I could have let it dry before reworking it right away (so what else is new), and kept the painting surface smoother. But then I wouldn’t have learned as much as I did about what I’m capable of under pressure (self-imposed, I admit) – something to keep in mind when I get my next commission. Full disclosure: I plan on trying this one again as a 2-day painting with a less severe background after the Challenge is over.

I’m proud of how I moved ahead and didn’t give up – and then wondered what would have happened. Bonnie would call this a learning experience. That’s what I’ll remember when I look at Vending Icons.

What do you see you looking at this one?