#30paintingsin30days #bevsbites #Oreo

Day 26. Margie’s Oreo

Today was my day to relax and catch up by returning to my food roots with an Oreo drawing. I only had a few hours to work, which didn’t allow time for cleanup and brush cleaning.

“Margie’s Oreo Cookie” by Beverly Shipko, Drawing, 6 x 6 inches

This is my first drawing of this Challenge, and the first in a long time. I must admit to feeling a little rusty and missed having a paintbrush in my hand. I had to dig out my Bristol board pad and soft drawing pencils, although I confess that I still use Old Faithful – my soft yellow Ticonderoga pencil.

After I scanned this image the first time, I made the cookie and logo darker and made revisions so the cracks were more obvious, as they were at the beginning.

I have a long history with Oreos, both eating them as a child and painting them for over a decade.

On Day 2 of this Challenge, I painted Stack of Oreos. Three Oreo paintings from the 2016 Challenge include Oreo in 4 Pieces, Oreo in 3 Pieces, and BlakesBite, the 2016 Oreo Cookie Contest winner for its distinctive bite.

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

The Oreo Cookie Contest is held during my annual April Open Studio, which is fast approaching. Consider this an official invitation to come and participate in the fun by simply biting an Oreo or two (weekend of April 22nd/23rd). I select my favorite compositions to paint (or draw), and name the paintings after the biters. Each work essentially becomes a personal portrait, like Margie’s Oreo.

A few years ago, I started drawing single Oreos, whose monochromatic color are suited to pencils. During the 2015 Challenge, I explored a Plate of Oreos, which ended up taking more than a day.

End of Day 21. “Graham’s Plate of Oreos” by Beverly Shipko, Drawing on bristol board, 6 x 6 inches.

The drawings evolved into Oreo prints, which have a contemporary look that does well in California. I recently donated an Oreo print to a fundraiser for the Ardsley Foundation for the Visual Arts. Here’s John Charles, the happy purchaser.

Then came Oreo Mandala, an original composite print representing 9 of the most distinctive Oreo configurations from the contest. I have this in my house and never get tired of it.

“Oreo Mandala” by Beverly Shipko, Limited Edition Giclee Print, 27 x 27 inches framed, available 20 x 20 inches unframed.

In fact, I gave one to Webmaster Laura as a housewarming gift.

This day flew by unbelievably quickly. I had intended to do so many things besides this Oreo drawing – take a walk, wash my hair, sketch a blueberry cheesecake (having a summer show in Maine) for Saturday, catch up on Instagram, start a drawing for Sunday when I’ll be in the city – all before 5pm. About half of this happened. I can dream, can’t I?

Instead I went to see Godunov’s Romeo and Juliet (and watched them dream!) from the Metropolitan HD Opera at my local movie theater, and loved it.

The best news is that I got a chance to try and reset my body clock by going to sleep earlier. I’ll be bright and shiny for Day 27. See you then!

Day 5 of the 30/30 Challenge – Oreo

Last night I felt another Oreo Cookie coming on, so I went with it. Whoever ate this left some really fine teeth marks, didn’t they?

This partially eaten Oreo came from a photo I took during the 2012 Oreo Cookie Contest that I sponsored during the RiverArts Open Studio Tour, an annual event held on the last weekend in April. Everyone who comes to my home studio and takes a bite out of an Oreo is automatically entered. Then I pick a winning Oreo, paint it, and name the painting after the biter – who is unknown in this case since they didn’t write down their name.

Day 5. Beverly Shipko, "Oreo Cookie - Anonymous", Oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches.

Day 5. Beverly Shipko, “Oreo Cookie – Anonymous”, Oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches.

I think it’s safe to say that this Oreo belonged to a child, based on the small teeth marks and creative way the cookie has been bitten in a few places – which is what makes this fun and unusual. The triangular piece of cookie on top somehow makes me think about floating icebergs and continental shifting (aka sea-floor spreading from college geology; a bit absurd, isn’t it?), both atypical associations for an Oreo . What do you think of when you look at this image?

Day 5 felt much better than Day 4 because I was able to incorporate some lessons learned and was psychologically prepared for working on a surface that was less than optimal. Today I put more paint on my brushes, which perhaps you can see in the white filling. I also used finer brushes than usual for the details, which was needed to get into the tiny “craters” on the surface.

At first, it was difficult for me to get started on this Oreo. Instead, I wanted to work on yesterday’s carrot cupcake and build up the texture of the nuts with more paint. However, I realized if I started doing that, time would fly by, I would get started late on the Oreo, and then I would miss meditation class, like I missed Downtown Abbey last night preparing for today (applying the pink ground in acrylic and sketching the image). Keeping in mind the spirit of the 30/30 Challenge, I put the carrot cupcake away in the corner where I wouldn’t see it all day and be tempted (to paint it, not eat it!), and focused on the task at hand – which took great self-control.

It was a good decision. I was pleased with the result and the process (no mishaps today with the velcro, which was a good thing.)

See you tomorrow – same time, same place.