"Chocolate, Vanilla, Chocolate" by Lesley Spanos. Oil on diagonal 6 x 6" Gessobord panel. Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved.
Our Different Strokes From Different Folks challenge subject this week is cupcakes. Now, I love cupcakes, even if I don’t eat them. In fact, I firmly believe that some of the most exciting things happening in the arts these days are taking place in cupcake world. If you want to see what I mean, take a look at one of my favorite blogs, Cupcakes Take The Cake. Such creativity! We painters find it hard to do anything that hasn’t been done before, but the cupcake artists are giddy with exploring new territory every day. Or maybe it’s just a sugar high.
Karin’s reference photo was reminiscent of a Wayne Thiebaud painting. He’s one of my absolute favorite artists of all time, so to try to copy him would be a sacrilege. I’d fall terribly short of my goal and embarrass myself. Like this:
"I'm no Wayne Thiebaud" by Lesley Spanos. Acrylic on 7 x 5" museum board. Copyright ©2009, all rights reserved.
But I had to try. This first attempt was done with a lot of modeling paste in the “frosting.” I thought I could shape it to look like 3-d, but it was a lot harder than I expected. I mean, do I let the frosting cast its own shadows and light the painting just right when it’s done, or do I paint the shadows in in addition to the texture so if the lighting isn’t just right they will still show? I can’t remember how Thiebaud did it. I just know that mine looked lame no matter what I did to it, and it was impossible to photograph the texture.
So, that’s the tosser.
My second attempt was more traditional, with little texture, and shadows painted in. The hardest part was getting all those little confetti quins the right color in both light and shadow.
Here are a few images taken along the way:
Happy one year anniversary to all Strokers!
Lesley Spanos
Lesley Spanos is a painter working in Indiana, USA.Translator
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |
 |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||
Subscribe
It’s perfect! Love the composition and glowing light. Wow!
I’d have been happy w/your tosser. I give you great credit for pushing through to the next stunning version.
Wow, can’t believe the effort you put into this challenge, but the final product definitely shows. What a great entry with the unusual twist of the canvas angle. Also fun seeing your painting progression, thanks for sharing!
Really looks great in the diamond shape! Love the glowing color and smooth gradations.
Like your different format for the challenge, but what really draws me to this are the wonderful light-filled colors. This is spectacular!
Fabulous diagonal! Thanks for sharing the process photos. It’s always great to see.
Yep. The frosting was difficult. I wanted to remove it with my finger, and then just draw a cupcake.
Fantastic job with the challenge, Leslie! Wonderful comopsition. I also think that your “tosser” is pretty great too.
Another WOW from you, Leslie! Creative format, wonderful color in the light and shadows! Also, hanks for showing us the wip!
Leslie, I agree with Liz, I’d be happy with the tosser too! This is a winner in my eyes. Its amazing.
WOW! Really fantastic,Lesley! I love both versions. I like the thick, vibrant colors in the first and the unique black framed diamond shape in the second. Just superb!
I actually liked your first attempt; but, I love the final with the fun diamond shape and the colors that look like our california sky last night. Flawless execution on those perfect swirls of yummy frosting!
great angle for this challenge, and I love those close ups.