Uncategorized | Beverly Shipko, Artist

Day 6 of 30 – Praline Cupcake

September 6, 2015 by Beverly

Jackson Pollock. That’s who I think about when I look at Crumbs Bake Shop Praline Cupcake.

I imagine someone going wild with the icing bag just like Pollock did with brushes and cans of house paint. The biggest difference is in the anger – there isn’t any this cupcake, whose purpose is to make us happy and come back for more.

Day 6. “Crumbs Praline Cupcake” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

The bottom line is that this cupcake design becomes an abstract composition. Similar to Poloack, Day 6 was about the handling of paint, but without the intensity. This work is all about the texture of the nuts and the building up of oil paint to literally simulate the nut crumbs 3-dimentionally on the surface of the panel. It’s all about the crumbs.

As opposed to the vibrant Day 5 Crumbs M&M Mini Cupcake, this delicacy has a limited palette. On Day 6, I decided to skip the plastic container that it came in (though I must admit I miss it a bit, and may try this again sometime with it) and added a little green to the background (a risky move for me since I’m not a green fan).

What is a praline cupcake, you might ask? According to Wikipedia, the broad definition is that it’s a confection including nuts and sugar, with cream being a common third ingredient. In France, bakers use almonds, while in the US we tend to use a combination of pecans, hazelnuts and almonds with milk or cream to achieve something akin to fudge. Whatever the recipe is, I remember it was delicious!

You won’t see this cupcake on the Crumbs website since it was a special cupcake that they made before filing bankruptcy. In the good old days, there was a wider variety of cupcakes on any given day and more rotating flavors. I wish I had taken more photos back then since Crumbs cupcakes look better than most, at least from an artist’s perspective. While competitors like Sprinkles offer great tasting cupcakes, how many can you paint with their signature circles on top?

This was a good break from yesterday, a relatively relaxing day (not as relaxing as going to the beach though).

Now it’s time to plan tomorrow’s treat. I feel a sugar craving coming on…

Day 5 of 30 – M&M Cupcake

September 5, 2015 by Beverly

“Crumbs M&M Mini Cupcake”, by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

I am particularly proud of this painting since I didn’t start applying paint until after 5pm, which is late for a composition this ambitious. I plunged ahead anyway.

The key was working with a detailed sketch, having relentless focus, and carefully applying the paint (there was no time to repaint anything!). It also helped to have lots of brushes on hand (to keep the colors from getting muddy, about 3 per color so I didn’t have to wash them every time I introduced a new color) and Q-tips ready to remove excess paint (usually artists use cloth or a palette knife to do this, but this panel is too small for that).

As you can see, I started by laying in the darks on a neutral beige acrylic underpainting to establish the structure of the picture, and to make sure the colors I mixed worked against the background (no time for remixing!). The beige was enough tone to allow the white frosting to pop and didn’t detract from the vibrant M&Ms.

This particular mini-cupcake is part of a 12-pack sold by Crumbs Bake Shop, with a delicious selection of many of their classic flavors. You can see hints of the plastic Crumbs container in the background, which is always a challenge (no pun intended). Day 5 was an exercise in chiaroscuro, each M&M requiring modeling like a ball to get the 3-D feeling.

Previously I had painted the whole tray in Bonnie’s Crumbs Bakeshop Mini-Pack, currently available at Cavalier Gallery in Greenwich, CT. While this painting is one of my all time favorites, I always thought a cupcake topped with M&Ms would make a good painting by itself, and decided to try it on wood, a very different painting experience vs. linen.

“Bonnie’s Crumbs Bakeshop Mini-Pack”, by Beverly Shipko, Oil on linen, 16 x 20 inches.

At first, I was oscillating back and forth about whether to include the transparent plastic container. While the painting would have worked either way, I left it in because the shadows gave the work life.

Tomorrow I’ll probably paint something with a more limited palette so I can take a break from this brush cleaning. I find myself wishing I had an assistant to help with the grunt work during the Challenge. Any volunteers?

See you tomorrow.

Day 4 of the 30/30 Challenge – Cake from The Boss

September 4, 2015 by Beverly

Over a year ago January, Bonnie and I went to Ridgewood, NJ for a used book fair, and had to stop by Carlo’s Bake Shop after watching the Grand Opening on Cake Boss.

And there it was – this pristine, luscious Oreo Cookie cake just crying out to be painted. And so I did today.

“Cake Boss Oreo Cookie Painting” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches

This Cake Boss Oreo Cookie Cake looked much neater and artistic than similar cakes I had seen, which tended to be too crumbly looking to paint (not in a positive way).

One of the reasons it took so long to paint was that this cake needed a square format canvas (not a typical shape), which I didn’t have and rarely used until this year. I was trying to make a square subject work on a horizontal canvas, and it never did quite look right. The preliminary sketches were so unsatisfactory that I put this Oreo cake back on the shelf.

Now that I am using square 6 x 6 wood panels, I thought I would try again. I’m glad I did.

Here’s what the painting looked like when I first started. It was slow going, but I made steady progress all day. I had to be patient as I painted in the details, and was rewarded when the painting gradually came to life. I focused on the interplay of light and shadows, the contrast of black and white, and the addition subtle color tones to liven things up a bit. Not surprisingly, the most difficult part was the whipped cream.

Cake Boss Oreo Cookie Cake is deceptively complex. Like many paintings, the devil is in the details. Only during a Challenge, there comes a time when you have to stop. I already spent a day and a half painting this, and have to put my brushes down. When you’re a perfectionist as I am, some days this is incredibly difficult, and has resulted in overworked paintings. This won’t be one of them – a good thing.

While Bonnie and I never did meet any of the Valastro family in Ridgewood that day, Day 4 of the Challenge brought me back to to the time we did Buddy “Cake Boss” Valastro at the local Dobbs Ferry train station. We raced over after Bonnie read a Facebook post saying Buddy was filming a show featuring Lidia’s Bakeshop & Cafe for a new TLC series, where The Cake Boss came to the rescue of floundering bakeries and resuscited them.

I remember what Buddy said when I showed him postcards of my cake paintings. He was thrown for a minute since he thought I was a baker, not a painter, but then he looked me straight in the eye and said: “You and me, we’re both artists. We just do it differently.” What a complement! Maybe I should send an image of the Cake Boss Oreo Cookie Cake painting to him. (Note: After seeing Buddy’s puzzled look, I made new postcards that clearly say paintings under the images.)

Time to switch gears and start planning for tomorrow. Who knows what it will bring? As always, suggestions and photos are welcome.

Day 3 of the 30/30 Challenge – Blake’s Bite

September 3, 2015 by Beverly

“Blake’s Bite – Oreo Cookie” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches

I decided to paint Blake’s Bite – Oreo Cookie. because of the distinctive teeth marks. Take a second look at the painting and you’ll see what I mean.

Despite my best efforts to remain unbiased, maybe I couldn’t help but be influenced by fact that Blake the Biter is a good kid who has been a regular visitor at my annual April Open Studio. He has been an enthusiastic participant in my Oreo Cookie Contest the last few years.

For the first time, Blake’s entry is one of the finalists. Congratulations, Blake!

In addition to his biting prowess, I was impressed by how he matured since I last saw him only 12 months ago. Blake was so full of new ideas about what to paint and how to market my paintings to reach a wider audience. His enthusiasm was contagious!

Blake was particularly proud of this year’s entry when he showed it to me. You would be surprised at how infrequently teeth marks actually show up on the cookie, but they did here and gave the cookie character. That’s what makes his painting a portrait, albeit untraditional, representing a moment in time in Blake’s life as a kid. As he grows up, his bite will change and so will future paintings (think the opposite of Dorian Grey please).

In fact, some of my best paintings depict cookies bitten by kids, who have smaller jaws and more rounded shaped bites. My first Oreo painting in 1998 was of my daughter Bonnie’s bite when she was just a little younger than Blake.

I try and paint during daylight hours to get a better look at the variety of subtle brown colors that I use. As I found out in January, here’s really no substitute for natural light when you’re painting, even using my natural spectrum lamp at night, especially when you’re near the end and adding in the subtle details.

As you can see in the above photo, I went back to my round bristle brush to give more texture to the paint surface of the background. My newest filbert brushes (shaped like those on the right below) are better for straight lines and details, but result in a smoother surface – which is highly desirable when you’re painting candy wrappers, but maybe not as much here.

Round, Flat and Filbert Brushes courtesy of http://www.oxlades.com.au

I used more paint than on Days 1 and 2 on the Oreo filling and the crumbs. As I always tell people, it’s all about the crumbs.

While I was working on Blake’s Oreo, I realized that I’m warmed up and feeling comfortable again with painting on wood so it’s time to be more adventuresome. And since I completed this set of three Oreo paintings, I’m ready to move on.

Days 1, 2 & 3 of the 30/30 Challenge, Paintings by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches

Stay tuned for Day 4.

Day 2 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo in 3 Pieces

September 2, 2015 by Beverly

Don’t you just love the icing on Oreo Cookies?

That’s what inspired me to paint this Oreo, creatively bitten by my friend Eva Suchow. The white icing is just begging to be licked off!

“Eva’s Oreo Cookie in 3 Pieces” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on cradled wood panel, 6 x 6 inches.

Compositionally, the icing provides a strong contrast to the broken pieces of the cookie. I wonder how Eva bit the top part of the cookie and not the bottom. Certainly there was no other entry quite like it.

Here is Eva just a few moments before participating in my Oreo Cookie Contest, and earning her spot as a finalist. Eva is the lady on the far right in the black sweater, with her husband Steve on the far left, and their friends, Gerri and Stan, from Australia (winning my award for traveling the farthest to attend my Open Studio!).

Yesterday’s Oreo Cookie painting came so easily that I expected the same things to happen today – but somehow it didn’t. That’s why painting is an art and not a science.

Today I started with the same size 6 x 6 wood panel, sketched in the cookie, and used a similar light pink acrylic ground to dull the white primer.

Then I struggled for a few hours applying oil paint – except when I brought out my old bristle brushes for the background, which gave the paint more texture. Maybe I’m simply more tired today. In this photo, I’m working on one of the parts that I labored over – the grooves going around the entire edge of the cookie.

While I’m happy with today’s Oreo painting, I wonder what the day will be like tomorrow. Perhaps Marli’s Oreo Cookie in 4 Pieces from Day 1 came together rather effortlessly because of the graphic quality of the four pieces, all of which conveniently broke into equal sized triangles. It’s something to consider as I move forward and choose subjects for the rest of the Challenge.

Any thoughts? Maybe there’s something I’m missing here. Sometimes we can’t see what’s right in front of us.

Thanks for your help and see you tomorrow!

Day 1 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo in 4 Pieces

September 1, 2015 by Beverly

I am addicted to Oreo Cookies. Painting them, that is, rather than devouring them like I did when I was younger.

And so I couldn’t resist returning again to one of my favorite subjects to kick off Day 1 of the 30 Paintings in 30 Day Challenge.

In fact, this isn’t any Oreo. This is one of the many entries I received in my annual Oreo Cookie Contest which I sponsor during the RiverArts Open Studio Tour in April. You are all invited to come over and simply take a bite to enter. I pick the best entries, paint them, and name the paintings after the biters. Marli’s Oreo Cookie in 4 Pieces is one of the 2015 finalists.

“Marli’s Oreo Cookie in 4 Pieces” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on wood cradled panel, 6 x 6 inches

This painting is essentially Marli’s portrait, albeit a non-traditional one, showing her unique bite.

Let me introduce you to Marli herself in the red shirt, who happens to be my next door neighbor. She and her friends Tess, Sydney and Dylan, all came to the Studio Tour (several times, I might add) and participated in the Oreo Cookie Contest (fellow chocoholics?). A good time was had by all, as you can see.

This particular Oreo is unusual since it broke into 4 parts, instead of the typical 2 or 3 pieces. I haven’t seen that for a number of years, and so this distinctive configuration stood out from the many other entries.

There are still a lot of potential paintings left on this table. But despite the best of intentions to plan, I still don’t know what tomorrow’s painting will be. Stay tuned.

If you get a craving for Oreos, be sure and stop by both here and my studio, where I always keep a spare pack of Oreos handy – and a camera nearby.

My September Challenge: Pure Joy

September 1, 2015 by Beverly

For the last three days, I have been preparing in earnest for my second 30/30 Challenge – that’s 30 paintings in 30 days – which officially begins tomorrow on September 1st.

As you may know, my first 30/30 Challenge was a New Year’s Challenge – which I rather cautiously announced on New Year’s Day. To read the story behind each work, click here to go to the blog summary page from January (actually 31 since I was inspired to paint an extra day), where each image links to a daily blog.

It’s so fascinating to have a blog now and go back to read about how I felt at the time. That’s probably why people keep diaries. Certainly that January 1st kickoff post does such a great job of explaining why I decided to do that first challenge, much of which still applies, that I encourage you to read it.

The bottom line: I feel that doing the January Challenge did make me a better artist in so many ways, and I gained confidence in my abilities. I am doing this September Challenge to recapture that exuberant feeling and artistic momentum I had by the end, and to get back into the swing of painting on a daily basis after being away quite a bit the last few months.

The Challenge is my version of a staycation. I’m excited about the prospect of focusing on my art once again – not to mention an excuse to put aside all my other responsibilities.

This time around, I can enjoy the Challenge more since I already proved to myself that I can do. I’ve developed better strategies to manage my time and get everything done (there’s always room for improvement). Hopefully I’ll get more sleep than last time.

For me, one of the most time consuming parts is deciding what to paint each day. Since my camera is essentially my sketchbook with iPhoto at 102,000 digital photos and still counting (I’ll be testing the upper limits of this program), this can be a daunting task. So today I sorted the ideas the old fashioned way, and tried to group them into themes on my dining room table.

Here’s a little preview of possible things to come.

I also spent some time sketching the first few paintings on wood panel to get adjusted again to the surface after painting on linen and canvas, which are much more forgiving of pencil corrections. As you can see, I would rather sit and sketch, unlike when I paint standing at the easel.

The idea was to get out in front of the Challenge so I’m not always trying to play catchup, especially since there’s so much going on in September, unlike the dead of winter with its zero degree temperatures.

There are many more distractions this September starting with Labor Day, followed by several major holidays, some concerts, together with a wedding and a weeklong visit from my webmaster daughter, Laura, the maid of honor. It’s her last year studying computational biology at the University of Illinois in Urbana, and she somehow makes time to help me out.

Thank you, Laura, for putting up the website and handling all the technical glitches that go along with it on an ongoing basis. You and I have come a long way since last year. Any future employer will be glad to have you.

And thank you Chef Bonnie, the other food artist in the family who you can read about here, for preparing some of my favorite meals for the week – without me even asking – despite the fact it is your first day back at school as an elementary special education teacher (or maybe it’s because of that? Otherwise you wouldn’t have had any home cooked-food.)

And lastly, I want to thank my husband, Jay.

Thanks for running out to Staples when my printer broke on Saturday (as I was printing all these photos!), for going to the AI Friedman art supply store when I discovered I didn’t have enough wood panels (and unfortunately still don’t) – and for just being supportive every day in so many ways while I dedicate myself to painting this month. (BTW, don’t forget enjoy all those extra bridge games. I know you won’t be suffering to much…)

Here’s the team. And it is a team effort. We all contribute in our own way. Without you, I couldn’t possibly finish 30 paintings in 30 days, let alone blog about it.

If I do nothing else, the Challenge is already a success in my mind. It has forced me to set priorities in the rest of my life so I can focus on creating art with laser-like attention, always a good thing. Along the way, I’m feeling that spark of joy that Marie Kondo talks about in her book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying. Well, there won’t be much tidying going on this month, but there will be plenty of joy to go around.

Those of you who read the book can appreciate my new nickname for the Challenge, The Life-Changing Magic of Doing a Painting-A-Day for 30 Days. I feel another blog coming on… Stay tuned in October.

In the meantime, I hope you’ll join me here every day in September for this excellent adventure, where I’ll be posting my new work. I always look forward to hearing from you. Together we can spark even more joy!

John Singer Sargent: An Artist’s Artist

August 29, 2015 by Beverly

Can you imagine John Singer Sargent doing a painting a day? The answer is yes, without breaking a sweat.

As I prepare for my second 30-day painting-a-day challenge starting shortly on September 1st, I can’t help but wonder what Sargent would choose to paint each day.

Would it be a watercolor? Sargent’s dazzles us with his use of bright light and shadow playing over surfaces – with such fluidity and ease in this medium that he never ceases to amaze me.

An Arab Woman by John Singer Sargent, Watercolor.

“Escutcheon of Charles V of Spain” by John Singer Sargent, 1912, Watercolor and graphite on white wove paper

A pencil drawing? Sargent has an uncanny ability to represent people with an economy of strokes. He did more sketches of the infamous Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau) than he did for any other portrait. Here she’s sitting down, unlike in the final full-length portrait that almost derailed his career.

“Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau)”. 1883-84, Graphite on off-white wove paper

A charcoal? Like this elegant depiction of American actor Mary Anderson. I love how he set the smooth skin again a dark background, and used an eraser to delineate the folds of the scarf.

“Mary Anderson” by John Singer Sargent, 1913, Charcoal on paper.

Or, how about an oil painting? Maybe he would set the scene outdoors, as he does here. Sargent’s light-filled oil sketches are brilliantly painted, demonstrating his uncanny ability to depict the most important elements with loose but telling brushstrokes that makes this work look effortless.

“A Gust of Wind” by John Singer Sargent, 1883, Oil on canvas.

These are just a few of the delightful works at the Metropolitan Museums of Art’s impressive portrait show, John Singer Sergeant: Artists and Friends (open through October 4th, 2015).

The exhibit includes a variety of work from the freer works above, to many more tightly rendered and traditional commissioned paintings – but nonetheless impressive works. Admittedly the selection you see here is more slanted towards light-filling paintings full of exuberance, and feature more women.

Here we see an early self-portrait, Sargent’s first double portrait (Jay’s favorite painting of the entire show), and his tribute to his art teacher, which was so accomplished that some people commented that the student already surpassed the teacher.

John Singer Sargent Self-Portrait

“Edouard and Marie-Louise Pailleron” by John Singer Sargent, 1881, Oil on canvas

“Carolus-Duran” by John Singer Sargent, 1879, Oil on canvas

Even in large formal commissioned portraits, Sargent’s brilliant bravura brushwork shines through. In this vibrant painting of Mrs. Hugh Hammersley, a patron of the arts and notable hostess, Sargent masterfully juxtaposed a variety of fabric textures in this strikingly energetic pose that showcases her engaging personality. Closer scrutiny of the pink velvet shows that he describes the essence of the rich fabric and her satin shoes with a minimum of detail.

“Mrs. Hugh Hammersley” by John Singer Sargent, 1892, Oil on canvas

Detail from “Mrs. Hugh Hammersley” by John Singer Sargent

Sargent: Artists and Friends is a fascinating compendium of Sargent’s large circle of talented contemporaries, including friends, acquaintances and patrons, and is a reflection of the rarified world in which he moved – from France, England, Germany, and Italy to America.

Sargent seemed to thrive on hanging out with other artists, some more famous than others, and documented his visits with them in many informal compositions. Some of Sargent’s freshest works are more spontaneous paintings of his artistic friends, including author Robert Louis Stephenson (who he painted 3 times), Claude Monet (who needs no description!), and a close friend and fellow painter, Paul Helleau, with his wife leaning against the boat. (I know this last painting well since it’s on the cover of my first book on American Impressionism, the subject of my master’s thesis.)

"Robert Louis Stephenso" by John Singer Sergent, 1887, Oil on canvas.

“Robert Louis Stephenso” by John Singer Sargent, 1887, Oil on canvas.

Claude Monet By John Singer Sargent

An Out-of-Doors Stud by John Singer Sargent, 1889, Oil on canvas

One of the most striking aspects of Sargent’s career is his ability to switch seamlessly from one medium to another, and from tightly rendered commissions of patrons and champions, like Isabella Stewart Gardener, to free and spontaneous depictions of his peers, such as Monet, Rodin and Faure.

Painting portraits is a gift, as anyone who paints and has tried their hand at portraiture knows. You either have it or you don’t. And Sargent had it. And boy, did he have it! That’s why I call Sargent an artist’s artist and would highly recommend this show, along with the audio guide to learn more about all the people involved.

And so the 30 Day Challenge probably wouldn’t have been much of a challenge for Sargent, would it? What do you think he would have done?

Whatever he chose, I’m sure Sargent would have relished the opportunity, and I’m pretty confident he would be painting on a much larger scale than I plan to do. Sargent has inspired me to try a bigger panel for the Challenge (at least once) and see what happens, and to experiment more with watercolor, charcoal and pencil. And just maybe, one day, if I do enough Challenges, I can evolve my own personal painting style to record the essence of a subject using a similar economy of strokes and a equally compelling bravura… 🙂

A painting a day? Done.

The Dealer Who Saved Impressionism

July 30, 2015 by Beverly

Writing this blog today was at the bottom of my to do list.

After reading Michael Fitzgerald’s rather slanted review today in the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) of Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting, a blockbuster exhibit currently on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, this blog post went right to the top of the list.

Michael, I totally disagree with your conclusion that this show “offers many visual pleasures but rarely does justice to its topic”. Furthermore, I think this misses the whole point of the show – and wish the WSJ would publish a counter-point to this slanted review (says Beverly, the indignant art historian).

While I agree with much of what is written, the conclusion overlooks the plethora of information in the wall charts and each wall tag, adding a whole new dimension to our experience of the show. Most of this information is new to us. We walk away thinking about the business aspect of 19th century Impressionism, and comparing it to birth of art movements in today’s world.

The goal of this exhibit was not to do a survey of Impressionism, or “tell this crucial story of modern art“, but to show how one 19th century art dealer committed himself to a fledgling art movement, enabling it to survive.

We learn from this show that Paul Durand-Ruel had the eye – and what an eye! In today’s poker vernacular, we would say Durand-Ruel was a visionary who had the courage of his convictions and guts to go all in.

As for why the curators decided to pick these particular paintings or why such “tiny samples” cannot tell this story, it’s almost irrelevant because the curators are not trying to tell the whole story. Some works are included, I suspect, for their provenance. The point is that Durand-Ruel kept Impressionism afloat at his own financial peril by taking out loans to purchase thousands of paintings to support the artists, narrowly avoiding bankruptcy.

Durand-Ruel was surprisingly modern in his thinking, developing innovative marketing strategies and tactics that are used routinely today in the gallery world by Gagosian, David Zwirner, among others. While being a visual feast for the eyes (especially Monet’s mouthwatering Gallettes) and serving up many major serial Impressionist works such as Monet’s Poplars and Renoir’s Dancers, this show looked at Impressionism from the perspective of a gallerist, providing an intriguing glimpse of the financial inner workings of the gallery world. (Unfortunately photos weren’t allowed of the paintings or the charts, so thanks to whoever took these.)

Claude Monet’s “The Galettes” (1882)

Durand-Ruel established himself as the forerunner of modern day gallery owners by establishing outposts in various geographic locations (Paris, London, multiple venues in the US), cornering the market by purchasing thousands of Impressionist paintings (think 1,000 Monet’s and 1,500 Renoirs alone), manipulating auction prices, wheeling and dealing with discounts, and more. And I learned that pop-up galleries are nothing new, having originated over more than a century ago.

He singlehandedly supported the Impressionists on a day-to-day basis (no consignment agreements for him!), introduced his artists in solo and group shows, and producing catalogs that could be passed along, generating word-of-mouth. He even promoted his shows with the press, commissioned essays, using strategies akin to contemporary PR. All of this sounds like what I learned in Marketing 101 at Northwestern – and yet it all happened in the 19th century.

One of the highlights for me was the reproduction of a Durand-Ruel gallery ledger showing the prices he paid for the the paintings and sculptures, his selling prices, and therefore revealing his profits – which were gigantic on some of the name artists of the day such as Corot, Millet and Rousseau, and funded his Impressionism investment. The ledger essential functions as a defacto list of all the unsold inventory – which represented a huge investment.

Fitzgerald says we don’t know much about Durand-Ruel, but I beg to differ. We know he was a private man, a conservative and a Catholic, who raised his kids alone after his wife died, and put a priority on his family. He was a creative thinker who committed himself vehemently to those artists whose work he believed in, putting his conservative politics aside. Durand-Ruel remained fiercely loyal to his artists throughout their lives – even when a few started using Theo van Gogh (brother of Vincent van Gogh) as a secondary dealer (which would have put an arrow through a lesser man’s heart). And he ventured out into the American art market, where he found the financial success that bailed him out and saved Impressionism.

After Jay and I finished viewing this impressive show, we had a few minutes to wander around and participate in a veritable treasure hunt for paintings in the permanent collection that were handled by Durand-Ruel. Almost an extension of the show, here’s one of many, many works marked with a special labels at the bottoms saying, “This object was sold by the Durand-Ruel Gallery”.

The fascinating part was finding out that large number of 19th century works in the Philadelphia Art Museum came through Durand-Ruel. At one point, we were in a gallery with a whole wall of these special tags!

I highly recommend seeing Discovering the Impressionists: Paul Durand-Ruel and the New Painting without hesitation. There’s something here for everyone.

So get in your car and go before the show closes on September 13th. Be ready for a treat on multiple levels.

Now Showing in Nantucket Too!

July 19, 2015 by Beverly

I am pleased to announce that Cavalier Gallery in Nantucket, MA is exhibiting my work in a Summer Group Exhibition. Thank you Lindsay for sending these installation photos today!

In this first photo, you can see 4 of my small Challenge paintings of desserts, in a place of honor next to the renowned Wolf Kahn, and over one of my favorite Carole Feuerman resin sculptures.

What fun for a summer show! It looks like the swimmer is resting and dreaming about desserts, doesn’t it?

Here we see Cosmic Oreo set in a nook against a fireplace screen, as if it’s on a stage. It sure does pop! I’m impressed with the installation of this eclectic group of paintings and sculptures which somehow works well together.

In addition to the paintings Lindsay photographed, Cavalier Nantucket has 10 more, including my ice cream sandwich series, Trifles from Crust Pizza and Wine Bar, Jay’s Ice Cream Cone – all very fitting for a summer show set on an island destination with 90 degree temperatures.

Cavalier Gallery just moved its Nantucket location to a larger space in its own building at 10 Federal Street, and now has a sculpture garden.

Photo courtesy of Cavalier Gallery, Nantucket, MA.

I hope you’ll satisfy your ice cream and dessert cravings at Cavalier the next time you’re in Nantucket!

Now Showing in Greenwich!

July 19, 2015 by Beverly

A few weeks ago, I dropped off 28 paintings with Cavalier Galleries in Greenwich, CT, all of which you can see in a slideshow on the Cavalier website.

Ron Cavalier, the owner, said that he would spread the paintings among his 3 galleries, the other two being in Nantucket, MA and New York City.

Yesterday Jay and I went to the Cavalier Gallery in Manhattan, and you can see what we found there. Today we went back to Greenwich to see which paintings that Ron kept in Connecticut. It felt like a cross between going on a treasure hunt and playing Where’s Waldo!

We found 4 paintings, the first of which was this Ho-Ho.

Then I spotted my Double Yolk Egg Raw painting in very good company, next to an early Hans Hoffman, a giant in world of Abstract Expressionism, and diagonally from Wolff Kahn, a contemporary painter famous for his use of color and landscapes.

At this point, I was getting silly and couldn’t resist… What would you call this juxtaposition of Bonnie’s Crumbs Bakeshop Mini-Pack with the resting swimmer? How about Sweet Dreams?

Ron decided to keep this painting in Greenwich since there’s a Crumbs Bake Shop nearby.

After we found the 4th painting, My Fractured World – Oreo Cookie, JoAnn gave us a private tour of the backroom upstairs, which was packed with a dazzling display of work. It’s always fascinating to go behind the scenes of a gallery.

So I hope you’ll stop by to explore when you’re in the area. The work is constantly being rotated. Cavalier is located at 405 Greenwich Avenue in the heart of downtown Greenwich, CT.

Maybe you’ll have as much fun as Jay and I did.

Now Showing!

July 17, 2015 by Beverly

Today I had the pleasure of seeing my paintings at Cavalier Gallery in New York City.

It was nice to see the eggs hung as a set – cooked and raw together. And I had never ever thought of hanging paintings above the long Cafe Lalo painting, both to make a stronger statement and provide visual balance in the gallery.

“Cooked Double Yolk Egg”, “Raw Double Yolk Egg”, and “Cafe Lalo” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on canvas.

Here’s one of my favorite serial works. I can thank Ivan Karp of O.K. Harris for inspiring me to combining all four paintings together in one framed piece to create a narrative whole.

“Bonnie’s Carrot Cake – 4 Panels” by Beverly Shipko, Oil on canvas, 33 x 41 inches.

Cavalier Gallery is located on 57th Street and 5th Avenue (3 West 57th) on the 4th floor.

Hope you can stop by when you’re in the city!

Seward Johnson Retrospective – Revisited

June 25, 2015 by Beverly

Our first two visits to this exhibit in 2014 left us wanting more. And we were lucky enough to get it.

By popular demand, this record-breaking Seward Johnson Retrospective at Grounds for Sculpture (GFS) in Hamilton, NJ was extended through the first half of 2015 (the last day is July 1st).

Jay and I went for the third time since I first blogged about it in 2014, and we still discovered new things in nooks and crannies. GFS is a dynamic place, packed full of sculpture that is constantly evolving and changing.

This trip we got to GFS early enough to take a tour, which we highly recommend. When you get to the ticket counter, ask about the free tours and sign up since space is limited (first-come first-serve basis).

Our tour guide covered a lot of territory in an hour, and led us through several popular permanent installations including this Seward Johnson 3-D take of Henri Rousseau’s popular painting at MOMA called The Dream, which was buried deep in the bamboo forest. At the end of the path, we were greeted by the mesmerizing stare of this beast.

We learned that the weather takes its toll on these outdoor bronze-cast sculptures, which are repaired on an ongoing basis, sometimes 3-4 times a year. Johnson’s Atelier (aka workshop where you can see the casting process) is open to the public once a month, alas, not during our visit. Instead, we settled for a peek through the fence at this collection of work currently being restored.

At this point, you might be asking yourself: Why did Jay and I go back 3 times? What exactly is the attraction?

The answer is fun and accessible art – and a lot of it with over 270 sculptures, 150 of which were Johnson’s in 2014 (some have moved on due to previous commitments. Not to worry – there’s so much to see!). You can touch the sculptures, walk around them (no climbing!), and interact with them

There is a lightness about these sculptures that comes from Johnson’s own internal compass and innate sense of humor.

Here is an artist who is comfortable in his own skin, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. This is most evident when you read the newspaper articles and book titles that are thoughtfully incorporated into his works, with powerful messages. In this article, But Is It Art?, Johnson pokes fun at himself and his entire body of work – which hasn’t always received critical acclaim.

When you’re visiting GFS, you don’t take yourself too seriously either. That’s my husband “inspecting” Marilyn Monroe’s backside… and asking for directions from the “guard” by the Mona Lisa – one of many classic icons, photos and Impressionist paintings reinterpreted by Johnson. Being an artist and art historian, I was particularly delighted to sit in full scale version of Van Gogh’s bedroom.

Johnson plays with scale on a monumental level, and gives us a chance to experience Impressionist icons in different settings, so that our relationship with the original art changes.

You can get a good idea of Seward Johnson’s approach by looking at his treatment of this well-known painting, Olympia by Manet.

Edouard Manet, “Olympia”,
1863, Oil on canvas,
H. 130; W. 190 cm, Courtesy of the Musée d’Orsay, Paris

When you park your car, this huge nude sculpture confronts you from a big hill, entirely out of context and blown up to a gigantic scale.

Inside, we find this same life-size, humanized nude sculpture set in a formal Parisian room, chandeliers and all. We’re free to walk around the installations, view them from every angle, and participate in them. I’ll never look at Manet’s Olympia the same again! (I wrote about this transformative experience in Monet Through A Different Lens)

By playing with sculpture on such a huge scale, Johnson also plays with our minds.

Monumental sculptures, like two ladies on a bench in The Meadows, a solder kissing a nurse (remember the famous photo?), and Johnson’s giant version of Matisse’s Dance for Joy reflecting in a pond, are juxtaposed with works of life-size everyday people scattered all over the park. Around each corner, we might find a window washer, policeman, mailman, or this girl reading on a park bench.

In one of the videos, Johnson says his space is the area beyond the frame (in fact, the name of one of his series). I can’t but help think it’s also in front of the frame, behind it and through the frame. He allows us to literally play with the frame in his version of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and the Mona Lisa.

Take some time to watch the video of Seward Johnson in the main building to get a sense of the man. Johnson has a strong sense of self (and even joked about being fired from the family business, Johnson and Johnson!), and creates the art he is compelled to make. He is quite an authentic character who is true to himself, willing to take risks, and has made a long-standing commitment to bring art to more people – as evidenced by evolution of this 42-acre park offering a a calendar full of events and activities for all ages.

In Johnson’s world, art imitates art, which imitates life, which can in turn imitate art…. Here we see how Seward Johnson inserted himself (wearing a hat) into Renoir’s Luncheon of the Boating Party, having drinks with his friend Red Grooms and other cronies. On this particular day, Jay and I were delighted to find Johnson – in person – exuberantly leading a Sing-A-Long and thoroughly enjoying himself (like in the installation) while belting out a variety of Broadway tunes (which takes courage since he doesn’t have the greatest voice…).

We had dinner at Rats Restaurant at GFS, receiving generous portions that were wrapped up to go in a light-hearted way, in keeping with the day.

Then, OMG, it was time to leave! I realized I can’t come back again before the show closes on July 1st…

But you can! There’s 10 days left for the Seward Johnson Retrospective. Check the website for the latest information, and get there early to get a parking space (which is the constraining factor at the GFS).

It’s worth the trip. Experience art like you never have before!

Accepted!

June 18, 2015 by Beverly

It’s human nature to want to be recognized for your achievements – whether you’re applying for college, a new job, or an art show.

And there’s nothing like the rush you get from getting that email that says accepted.

Today I got to relive that experience when Jay and I went to the 65th Annual Art of the Northeast Exhibition at the Silvermine Arts Center in New Canaan, CT (through July 26th), curated by Michelle Grabner & Brad Killam, Co-founders of the Suburban and the Poor Farm in the Chicago area.

It’s always fun to walk into a new exhibit and see how your work is hung within the context of the show. We didn’t have to look far since we found Adrianna’s Strawberry Kiwi Blueberry Tart in the front gallery.

Here’s a closer view of the carton of eggs nearby, carrying on the food theme.

It was a quiet weekday, good for taking photos. We had a wedding celebration the night of the opening reception, so unfortunately I didn’t get to meet the curators (fellow Midwesterners) or other artists.

There was quite a variety of work, both in materials and techniques, with a fair amount of sculpture and ceramics.

The Art of the Northeast is a show I had heard about for years and intended to enter, and finally did this year. I had the pleasure of getting that stamp of approval – accepted.

Somehow it never gets old. Ask anyone who has ever applied for anything!

Andy Warhol at MOMA

June 18, 2015 by Beverly

Of course, being a food art junkie, I had to see Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can series at MOMA.

“Campbell Soup Can” by Andy Warhol, 1962, synthetic polymer painting, 20 x 16 inches canvas, courtesy of MOMA.

While this infamous print series had typically been displayed in a grid, for the first time it is installed at MOMA like it was for the original installation at Ferus Gallery, Los Angeles, in 1962 – in a straight line.

There is something very satisfying about seeing them all in lined up in a row, establishing a rhythm in the gallery that draws your eye around the room from one to another. I couldn’t help think about Peter Dreher’s serial imagery of drinking glasses similarly lined up on the wall, which I saw a year ago and loved, and blogged about.

Certainly it made it easier to compare individual works, which was an interesting exercise since these works were hand-painted. Warhol used his photo-screening technique on subsequent series’ after he completed his Campbell’s Soup Cans.

Contrast the way the Campbells Soup Cans are hung vs. Warhol’s Marilyn series of photo-screened images, which is in the next gallery. Imagine how different this body of work would look spread out in a single line. Neither installation is better or worse, just different. Which would you prefer – straight line or grid?

The show also includes drawings and illustrated books Warhol made in the 1950s and 1960s, featuring work from his years as a commercial artist in the 5os.

You’ll have plenty of time to stop by this small show the next time you’re at MOMA since it runs through October 15th, 2015.