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.....

Joes - Small Postcard Painting at Salisbury Beach by Debbie Shirley

"Wish You Were Here"

Joes

Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

The clown was too much fun to resist.....and the building has such a dated quality with the primary colored panels. I assume they are covering windows? I may have to do a little research to see if I can find old pictures of the building to see if it always looked that way. I was just down at Salisbury Beach last week for a show and took more pictures, so hopefully more paintings from there soon!

The Fun-A-Day Boston exhibit where these paintings were shown is now over. I should have them back int he studio soon and they will be available for sale.

Tripoli - Small Acrylic Painting of Neon Sign Salisbury Beach

"Wish You Were Here"

Tripoli

Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts

6 x 4 inches

acrylic on watercolor paper

Love the letters on this colorful sign at Salisbury Beach. Once again, I feel like there must be a better crop, so I am sure I will be playing with this sign again.

These pieces from my Fun-A-Day project will be on exhibit for one more week at the Aviary Gallery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts.

Pat's Diner - Small Acrylic Painting of a Vintage Diner

"Wish You Were Here"

Pat's Diner

Salisbury, Massachusetts

6 x 4 inches, acrylic on watercolor paper

More than 1/3 of the way through my Fun-A-Day Project and also the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

I am starting to feel a need to get out there and take as many pictures of these old places and signs as quickly as I can and paint them all....it seems like everyday I hear of another place that I have painted has closed. Pat's is still open as far as I know, but almost half of the ones I have painted so far this year are no longer in business....

While I am often drawn by the neon, the old-time signs, the dated architecture, I love how other people are connected to many of these places by their memories - I hear some really wonderful stories from people who recognize places in my work - thank you for sharing with me!

Joe's - Postcard Painting for Wish You Were Here Fun-A-Day Project

"Wish You Were Here"

Joe's

Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts

6 x 4 inches, acrylic on watercolor paper

Getting back to my Fun-A-Day Project and also the 30 Day Painting Challenge.

This year, my project for Fun-A-Day January is a Postcard Painting-A-Day "Wish You Were Here" - a little retro road trip visiting some of my favorite signs and structures.

No neon on Joe's Playland, but I loved the primary colors  ;-)

Tripoli - Acrylic Painting of Neon Sign, Retro Signage Art

Tripoli

12 x 12 inches

acrylic on 3/4" canvas

Oh my, so far behind on posting!
I've been painting like a madwoman, though. But with the kids out of school, all of their activities (and keeping them busy), endless games of baseball (go Bombers!), other family stuff, and then painting in any spare moments day and night, I just haven't had the time to keep up online. So the next few weeks will remain sporadic in posting, and then hopefully things will get back to a more normal routine.

This neon sign is for Tripoli Pizza in Salisbury, Massachusetts. I painted the sign once before in a 6 x 6 inch format and decided to try it larger. I'm thinking of going even larger with it - I have an 18 x 18 inch canvas, so maybe I will give it a try!

As far as the pizza goes, I haven't had it from this location, but I did recently try Tripoli Pizza in North Andover. My oldest son (14 years old) informed me that this is called "beach pizza". I never knew that there was a name for it! It is pizza that is hand rolled into large rectangular trays, a slightly sweet tomato sauce and just a sprinkle of cheese over a fairly crisp crust. Much of the pizza in New England is Greek-style, so this is definitely a change of pace.

This painting, along with 13 others from my "Along the Way" series are now hanging at the Boxford Town Library though September 17, 2014. There will be an artist reception on August 26 from 6-7;30 pm for those of you who are local to Massachusetts. It seems like this series will be going "on tour" over the next year, so stay tuned for details for more venues where it can be seen!

Tripoli - Small Acrylic Painting of Neon Sign Salisbury Beach

Tripoli

6x6 inches

acrylic on cradled panel

An iconic little pizza place on the strip at Salisbury Beach - and one of my current favorite signs!
I see the potential for a lot of future paintings with this sign - including a larger version of this one for an upcoming show.

One of my quickly approaching show is a solo exhibition of some of my "location" paintings at the Boxford Town Library starting in August.

This painting is now available at Pop Gallery in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Pat's Diner - Small Landscape Painting Salisbury, MA

Pat's Diner

6x6 inches

acrylic on board

This is a classic little diner in Salisbury, Massachusetts. I am currently working on a small series of Scenes from the North Shore for Pop Gallery. So many interesting places that I want to paint! While I will need to narrow it down to just a few to complete over the next two weeks, I suspect it will be a series that I return to frequently. People seem to connect with these little paintings....even if they have never been to the specific spot, it always seems to remind them of somewhere they have been. I am enjoying hearing from people about these spots or the memories they conjure.

This little piece will be available at Pop Gallery for the month of August.