Hilltop - Small Acrylic Painting of Iconic Hillltop Steak House Sign.

Hilltop

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

SOLD

Why so many Hilltop paintings? The Hilltop Steakhouse was such a popular restaurant - with such an iconic sign. The sign is fun to paint - and is recognizable instantly by anyone who had ever lived or visited the North Shore. Since the restaurant was just demolished recently, the place and its memories are still fresh in people's minds. I think people really want to remember this place - and there is unlikely to be anything quite like it again. Generations of local families celebrated their special occasions there - I love hearing people's stories when they see on of my Hilltop paintings at a show.

This painting has sold  - but if you are interested in a small Hilltop painting for your own home (or office) - please contact me for more information!

Marty's Donut Land - Acrylic Painting of Iconic Storefront in Ipswich, Massachusetts by Debbie Shirley

Marty's

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

SOLD

I have painted Marty's Donut Land before.....it has since been bought out and changed hands. There are a lot of Ipswich people who have fond memories of Marty's - of the fresh hot donuts, right out of the fryer, that you had to show up for very, very early (or late for the party crowd) and get before the sun rose. I have had a bunch of requests for more, so I am doing some more small paintings - slightly different crops and orientations - so that people can have a piece of Ipswich history for their own. Please contact me if you would like a Marty's painting to capture some of your own memories.

Hilltop Steakhouse - Small Original Acrylic PaInting SOLD

Hilltop (Frank Giuffrida)

5 x 7  inches

acrylic on cradled panel

SOLD

This was a little commission - from a slightly different angle /cropping than my previous Hilltop Restaurant. My collector made a special request for me to include the name. Don't forget you can contact me to make a special request of  your own!

Agawam Diner - Small Acrylic Painting of Classic Rowley Diner by Debbie Shirley

Agawam Diner

(Rowley, Massachusetts)

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

The Agawam Diner on Route 1 in Rowley, Massachusetts is quite the local institution. Whenever I have a painting of it at one of my shows, it seems like just about everyone comments on having eaten there. By the way, despite the name, I don't think this diner was ever in Agawam. I believe it was in Ipswich and Peabody before it was moved to Rowley in the 1960's.

This piece is currently available at Pop Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Interested in a similar piece? Contact me!

Clam Box - Small Acrylic Painting of New England Clam Shack

Clam Box

(Ipswich, Massachusetts)

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

One of my favorite clam shacks to paint - and not a bad place to get fried clams, either ;-)

Just a reminder - I am happy to paint custom versions of these little paintings if you want a different size, or perhaps a painting of YOUR favorite clam shack!

Hilltop - Small Acrylic Painting of Iconic Hilltop Sign Route 1

Hilltop

(Saugus, Massachusetts)

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

It always seems like it is time to do another Hilltop painting!

The Hilltop seems to be one of my most in-demand images. I suspect that is because it was such a well-loved place that was around for so long - and then fairly recently closed their doors for good. At every show I attend with one of my Hilltop pieces, I hear so many stories about the special family get-togethers that were held there....the special dinners, birthdays, anniversaries, family reunions, rehearsal dinners, etc.  - everyone seems to have a Hilltop memory. Not too many restaurants have such a long history of making memories for so many people!

This is also why I love this series of local signs and buildings that I have been working on. Not only are they fun to paint, but I really enjoy hearing the stories that people share, their memories connected to these places, the connections that people have to these places.

I do these pieces by commission as well- so let me know if there is a special place you would like me to memorialize in a painting.

Tripoli Pizza - Small Acrylic Painting of Neon Sign from Salisbury Beach

Tripoli

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

I seem to be meeting a lot of people from Salisbury lately. And have been talking a lot about Salisbury Beach. Can't talk about Salisbury Beach without mentioning Tripoli Pizza! And while they have other locations, I am pretty sure that the Salisbury one is the only one with the great neon sign. One of my favorite signs - that I keep coming back to.....

Police - Small Still Life Painting of Lego Toys

Police

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on canvas panel

This little piece was donated to the O+ Haverhill Silent Auction to help them raise money for their festival that promotes art and wellness. For more information, check out their face book page here.

I stopped by the event on Saturday night to hear some music and bid on a few pieces of art. And I am excited that won this lovely piece by Linda Germain:

Free HBO - Small Acrylic Painting of a Vintage Motel Sign by Debbie SHirley

Free HBO

(Saugus, Mass.)

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

Back to more of my sign paintings. I need more for local shops - and then with show/festival season getting underway, I will need some for my own inventory as well! I find signs fun to paint - sometimes I keep going back to some of my favorites, playing with composition and color and dimensions. After years in the printing industry and a resulting love for typography, it was inevitable that I would be drawn to signs - the lettering, the shapes, the graphic nature. Then tie in the nostalgic factor - and they are an irresistible subject for me!

Fowles - Small Acrylic Painting of an Iconic Neon Sign

Fowles

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

Back in full sign making mode! Yep, some of the same old....but some new ones, too - and always new crops and colors - love playing around with these and getting ideas for bigger pieces.
I've got a bunch of orders to fill for these - and a new local venue opening in a few weeks. More info to come!

Agawam Diner - Small Acrylic Painting by Debbie Shirley

Agawam Diner

(Rowley, Massachusetts)

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

A favorite local diner to paint - this one is for Pop Gallery in Gloucester. Excited to be getting back to some of these small sign paintings again - they are in high demand right now! Time to go on a search for some new diner/sign material...

Fowles - Small Acrylic Painting of a Landmark Newburyport Neon Sign

Fowles

(Newburyport, Mass.)

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Zenobia Gallery

Oh the craziness!

Been super busy - some commissioned work, some exhibition work, and then work on the Haverhill Art Market. And, oh yeah, work for all my local shops and galleries who all seemed to sell out over the holidays!

So, I had to temporarily put my Fun-a-Day project on hold. You will still see pieces from it as I try to finish it up - it has been too much fun to give it up entirely! And it is giving me ideas for some of the larger pieces I have coming up....

Anyhow, "Fowles" is one of the mini sign paintings that I do for local shops. the sign is a landmark in Newburyport - one of my favorites to paint. Yes, I paint some of these signs and buildings over again many times. I usually change cropping, proportions, sizes, use of color and shadow, etc. It helps give me ideas for bigger paintings, and it also makes these smaller pieces available to more people at reasonable prices. I am always on the lookout for new signs to paint, but people keep requesting some of the old ones, so I keep painting those, too. I do many of these as custom pieces as well - feel free to contact me if you are interested in more information!

Winter Green - Small Floral Still Life Painting

Winter Green

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on archival canvas panel

A little break from my Fun-a-Day paintings.....I painted this piece at an indoors "Paint-In" at Nunan Florist and Greenhouse. Ir was a lot of fun - so much good material to choose from. And nice not to be outdoors here in the Winter. It was interesting also because with 100% humidity inside the gerenhouse, my paint wouldn't dry! Kind of an interesting dilemna for an acrylic painter!!

Cowboy Joe - Small Acrylic Painting from a Classic Board Game

Cowboy Joe

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Newburyport Art Association Gift Shop

Do you recognize this classic game? One of my favorites as a child!
I am currently working on a little 3x3" version of Cowboy Joe for my Fun-a-Day project.

George's - Small Acrylic Painting of Coffee House, Retro Sign

George's

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

available at Pop Gallery

Switching back and forth a bit with my posts since I still have a number of paintings left to catch up on.
This is part of the series of small paintings of local signs and buildings that are now available at Pop Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts. George's is a great little corner coffee shop in Gloucester. Soon after I took the picture for this painting, they replaced their sign. The new on ehas a lot less character - I am glad that I was able to capture the old one!

Yin and Yang - Small Acrylic Still Life Painting, Gourds for Autumn Decor

Yin and Yang

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on gessobord panel

I know, I totally fell behind on posting for the 30 Day Painting Challenge. Never fear! I am giving myself a new challenge for October - and there is a challenge in there for you, too!

First off, I couldn't resist these little lumpy little gourds for a seasonal still life. Too much fun to paint!
This painting will be heading to Sage Art Gallery for their October exhibit. If you are interested in purchasing the painting, it will be available through by DailyPaintworks page.

Now for next month....just a little teaser. I will be calling it "Fruit a Day October". For the first 20 days of these month, I will be painting and posting one of my little square colorful kitchen art pieces. Now for the exciting twist.....I plan to start offering a small number of limited edition prints! These prints will be available in sets of four in the beginning. For the first release, the set will be made from these kitchen art pieces. What I will be asking you all to do is to take a look at the 20 paintings that I post this month and vote for your favorite two. The top four vote-getters will become the images for the first set of prints. And one of the voters will win a set of the prints for themselves!

Fun, right? More details coming soon......

Family Ties - Small Still Life Acrylic Painting for Kitchen Decor

Family Ties

5 x 7 inches 

acrylic on gessobord panel

Just a quick post as I finish up this little painting.......
This painting is heading to "Flavors from the Farm", a fundraising event for the Boxford Town Library.

Ned - Small Acrylic Painting Still Life of Classic Toys

Ned

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on 3/4" cradled board

Mr. Potatohead looked like he could use a friend  ;-)

These game and toys paintings are for an upcoming exhibition. If you are interested in commissioning something similar for yourself, then please contact me!

Howdy! - Small Acrylic Still Life Painting with a Potato Head

Howdy!

7 x 5 inches

acrylic on 3/4" cradled panel

Can you tell I had fun with this one?
He made me giggle while I was painting him.

For an upcoming exhibition......

Two Pears - Small Still Life Painting with Pears

Two Pears

5 x 7 inches

acrylic on canvas

Just finishing up this commission and moving on to the varnishing stage. There are so many colors i these pears! I can't wait to varnish them so all the colors just "glow".

I will only be taking a few more commissions before the holidays. Be sure to contact me soon if you are interested in a unique piece created just for you!