"Cherry Chip with Cherry Frosting'

6x6" Oil on Canvas

Here's the third in the series. This one was also very fun to paint, especially the cherry chips. My wife said I need to paint vegetables next so there aren't so many treats around! I decided to add one more to the series and just need to bake the final batch... Red velvet with white frosting.

Cupcake Triptych

I'll get a better picture of the newest one tomorrow when the lighting is better. I'm also thinking about doing one more...

Cupcake #2

I'm really enjoying this cupcake series! This one was spread out over the last three days and probably took me a little longer than the last one. My employed the same techniques here as with the first but my emphasis was different. Instead of focusing on the paper liner I wanted the missing bite to be the star here. Because of that I left the paper largely undefined and tried to have my area of greatest contrast at the bite. The cupcake itself is also very different. Not only is it yellow cake instead of chocolate but it quite wide compared to the last one. The frosting was also spread on instead of being piped on in a swirl. I'm finding it a rewarding challenge to try to nail down the texture of frosting as well as that of cake. I'm planning on doing one more cupcake to finish the series so stay tuned!

Here I've roughly blocked in the areas

And here is the finished piece.

"Yellow Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting"

6x6"

Oil on canvas

Again the canvas is painted on all sides

Cupcake 1

I love the daily painting movement and follow many artists who complete a small piece each day. Although I don't have the resources or time to be that prolific, I occasionally get to fit one in. I've been planning on painting this for a few weeks and finally got the chance. It took about two hours and was exceptionally fun to paint. I approached this piece armed with several ideas and goals. I forced myself to premix my main colors before I got a brush in my hand because I find that this way sets me up for a more accurate color mixture and saves me frustration later on. I also tried to limit my palette somewhat so the colors I mix are harmonious. For example, the background hue was made by mixing Cerulean Blue with some of the colors from the chocolate mixture. I really wanted to show the value change in the paper from dark on the bottom where the cupcake is flush against it, to the lighter top where the paper starts to peel away from the cake a bit. I'm quite satisfied with the result and plan on making this the first in a series.

First I sketched it in thin Burnt Umber, just

getting the placement and general shape established.

Then I block in the darks before finishing with the

highlights and background/foreground

After approximately 2 hours I have the finished product.

'Chocolate Cupcake'

Oil on canvas

6x6"

Detail:

The painting extends onto the four sides of the square canvas

so it can be hung without a frame if desired: