Cupcake - Original Mini Paintings Cupcake Still Life by Debbie Shirley

A couple of cupcake minis! These measure 3 x 3 inches and are on mdf panels. Occasionally I throw in something super fun just to break things up a bit. I enjoy playing with the colors of these - plus who can resist CUPCAKES??!

These little guys will be heading to Zenobia in Ipswich, Massachusetts later this week.

Cupcake #3 - Original Acrylic Still Life Painting

Cupcake #3

4 x 4 inches

acrylic on mdf board

Because painting cupcakes is so much fun, I decided that there needed to be more....

Cupcake #1 - Small Acrylic Painting Food Art Cupcake Still Life by Debbie Shirley

Cupcake #1

4x4 inches

acrylic on MDF panel

Why cupcakes?
I always thought that they looked like they would be fun to paint (they are!).
But my  kids were just happy that it wasn't yet another vegetable!

Available at the North Shore Makers Mart, Topsfield, Massachusetts

Duck Down - Small Acrylic Painting of a Rubber Ducky

Duck Down

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF board

available at Zenobia 

A few little cuties for one of my gallery shops. The rubber ducks have been popular!

My computer is giving me fits, hence I have been blogging less, but I am still painting lots and will have some larger pieces to show very soon......

Greeting - Mini Potatohead Still Life Painting

Greeting

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Yes, I keep going back to Mr. Potatohead. I actually debated doing my entire challenge just Mr. Potatohead - really, 31 days of Potatoheads! But I figured even my MOST loyal followers would give up long before that was over with.....

This painting is part of my Fun-a-Day project and 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Here are the first 6 being varnished:

Lollipop Woods - Mini Painting from a Vintage Game Board

Lollipop Woods

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Gotta love Candyland! I found it pretty mind-numbing to play with my boys, but I always loved the graphics on the game board and the cards with the colored squares. I was so disappointed when I bought the game for my kids that the game board had changed so much from when I was little. When I first decided that I wanted to paint a little scene from Candyland, I was lucky enough to have a friend with a vintage board which she lent me for a photo shoot.

This painting is part of my Fun-A-Day project, as well as the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

Downstream - Mini Painting of a Rubber Ducky

Downstream

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Another rubber ducky for my Fun-A-Day project! Gotta keep on swimming.....

Joe - Small Still Life Painting from a Classic Board Game

Joe

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

A smaller, squarer version of the "Cowboy Joe" painting from a few days back. This one is part of my Fun-a-Day project where I am painting a 3x3" painting of a classic toy or game. Cowboy Joe is a piece from the old Chutes and Ladders game. I borrowed a couple of vintage board games from a friend - the graphics on the ones from the 60's-70's are far better than the modern version!

Ric - Mini Still Life Painting of Classic Toy

Ric

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

I have fallen behind on my Fun-A-Day posts.... I will have to get caught up here somewhere...

And if you follow me at all, you know that this "Fun & Games" series will have to contain not only many Mr. Potatoheads, but a number of Lego guys as well! I have a Cars song stuck in my head tonight, hence the name "Ric" (yes, I have odd ways of coming up with my titles!)

Drive - Small Acrylic Painting of Classic Toys

Drive

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Day 6. I tell you - this month is going to fly by! I have a larger painting due in a few days, so I am splitting my time here a bit. And, yes, this painting of Fisher Price Little People will be done as a larger paint....I've already sketched it out!

Night Drive - Small Acrylic Painting of Toy Car

Night Drive

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

For Day 4 of my "Fun & Games" Fun-A-Day project and the 30 Day Painting Challenge. I loved these wood cars and trees when my kids were younger. We had signs and couple of buildings, too - maybe I should look around to see if we have any left - could be some more ideas for this series there!

Your Move - Mini Painting from a Vintage Board Game

Your Move

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

"Moving " along on my Fun-A-Day project and the Painting Challenge. An old Parchessi board makes for some fun abstract art!

First Challenge Day - Looking Forward Mini Painting

Looking Forward

3 x 3 inches

acrylic on 1/2" MDF block

Well, I do know that is it actually the SECOND day of January, but I really wanted to squeeze in yesterday's post, so I am posting for my challenges a little bit late.....

This January, I am participating in BOTH the Fun-A-Day project and Leslie Saeta's 30 Paintings in 30 Days Challenge - kinda killing two birds with one stone, right?

The 30 Paintings in 30 Days is exactly as it sounds - around 1,000 artists from all over the world have signed up with a goal of completing 30 paintings in 30 days. I have done this challenge in the past and have found it to be a great way to jump start my year.

The Fun-A-Day Project is just a really fun and creative way to see what other artists are up to. People all over the country pledge to do something fun and creative each day in January, document it somehow, and then participate in a show creatively exhibiting their project. People paint, write poetry, draw on bananas, take pictures of strangers in coffee houses, do landscape art, creative stitchery, all kinds of incredibly fun and different "creative" acts. It is really neat to follow along online to see what people come up with! I've exhibited with a great group in Boston for the last three years - I am looking forward to seeing what projects are done this year. Mine always seem kind of boring in comparison to some of the others, but they mean a lot to me and I have fun doing them (which is the point, right?!). This year, my project is called "Fun and Games" and I am doing little paintings each day on 3 x 3 x 1/2" MDF blocks of classic toys and games. I am sure I will repeat some subjects - like Mr, Potatohead, of course - but I already have a ton of ideas and can't wait to get going on this. I am kind of informally planning to do 33 3x3" paintings and eventually exhibit them at one of the Haverhill Art Markets as well.

Of course I will  be keeping up my regular exhibition schedule with all of this, so there is a lot of painting to be done. I have also just found out that I will be needing to move out of my studio space suddenly, so if someone knows of a small space with cheap rent in Haverhill, Massachusetts, please get in touch with me  :-(

So - here is to starting off 2016 full of fun and lots of painting!!