Pies on Pans -- Sold!

Pies on Pans, 21"x27", acrylic, © B. Sistak Baur

Pies on Pans with its viewpoint of looking right into a pie case is a design study with ellipses.  Ellipses are circles as seen from the side. You see them everywhere throughout your day but we usually just call them circles. 

Ellipses are challenging shapes for anyone painting or drawing. To better understand and perhaps conquer ellipses, I suggest a new column in the NY Times called Line by Line.  This is a delightful series on the pleasures of drawing and one entry is all about ellipses.

--Barb

Update -- this lovely painting has a new home!  It is heading to a Gallery / Frame / Pie Shop in Kansas City, Missouri. This is the perfect setting!  When I get more information on the location, I will post it here. 

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Cupcake Wave

Cupcake Wave is an artwork that I created during my exploration of multiple dimensions on the painting surface. (You can click on the image to get a larger view. Press esc to return.) This work is comprised of several small paintings on little canvases that have been adhered  to a larger canvas.  In this case, it is a 3-foot long and narrow canvas that serves as the base painting. In addition, the smaller canvases undulate along the larger canvas creating a "wave" sensation. 

Abstract cupcakes in contrasting colors provide the images.  Each little abstract is on it own little canvas.  The base canvas is 36" long and 6" high. Color blocks are painted on it.

On the back of the little canvas, I spread a thick acrylic gel.  

 Each little canvas has its place on the painting. It is placed and pressed down. Then left along overnight. 

 The acrylic gel dries as hard as a rock making a very sturdy adhesive.

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Cupcake Array on Red

Cupcake Array on Red

30"x40"

Acrylic and Acrylic paintings adhered to the canvas create a multi-dimensional surface.

© Barbara Sistak Baur

It is a combination of many canvases pulled together for one painting. There is a large base painting and adhered onto that are several smaller paintings.  Each of the smaller paintings have been painted on different types of the canvases with different depths. If you look closely, you can see the different heights. I was inspired to do this after admiring artworks that are a combination of wooden panels or ceramic tiles. 

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Grand Fruit Tart "Refreshed"

I first painted Grand Fruit Tart in 2009.  I was pleased with it and It was well received by viewers. Recently, however, I decided it needed some more punch so I decided to add more painting to it.  Here is the before painting and the after painting.  I think it is very much improved, don't you? 

Before                                                               

After 

Grand Fruit Tart measures 20"x24" and is created with acrylic paint and media on board.  It is currently framed with a black contemporary frame. You can click on either image for a larger view. 

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Cupcake Stand

Cupcake Stand 

by Barbara Sistak Baur

48"x8" 

Acrylic on Canvas

I found this fabulous cake stand in an out-of-the-way shop 

and immediately knew what I was going to do with it. 

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A stunning focal point

The Bakery is Open, 21"x27", acrylic,, © B. Sistak Baur

Discovered in a small shop, immediately I saw that a fabulous painting could be composed for these glorious tarts.  Soft gels form the kiwis, peaches and strawberries.  Stiffer gels provide height and depth for red, blue and black berries.  They are put on a traditional bakery rack with a new twist: the racks themselves are created with the same gel used for the fruit and "piped" on, after a fashion. By the way, I don't measure anything but simply "eyeball" rack spacing. The design of this work calls for abundant space so the size is a bit larger, measuring about 21" high by 27" long (approx 27" by 34" framed). As always, you can click the images here online to see a larger view. Could this painting be the stunning focal point you have been looking for?


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French Apple Tart

French Apple Tart, acrylic, 11"x14",  © B Sistak Baur

Circles in circles is what inspired me to do this painting. The curves of the apple slices are layered one upon one another and become a larger curve. This, in turn, is contained within the surrounding curve of the pie crust.

Pieces of raw painting canvas were cut into the shape of apple slices, arranged in the painted pie crust and adhered to the painting support. Color was added with acrylic paint. Then berries were dropped on top.
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Loaves

I accepted a challenge recently – take the textural style I have developed further. Push it to a different place. This is the happy result. I used raw canvas as the major textural element, along with large brushstrokes and impasto paint. The raw canvas was cut or torn into appropriate shapes. That process left some loose strings and fraying that I decided to keep. The raw canvas shapes were adhered to the board and stuffed a bit to give them more depth. I painted on the raw canvas using a large brush. I dripped glazing on the rolls for “icing.” I like how the roughness of the canvas, raw edges and thick paint serves the subject. Plus, there is a more abstract feel. © 2008 Barbara Sistak Baur, 16”x30”, acrylic, turned canvas, mixed media.

Close ups of the loaves and rolls.


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Cherry Pie

Cherry Pie, "24x20", acrylic, framed

©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur

The pie part of this painting features the thick-paint technique I use. This is set against the “flat” pan and stand. However I give this portion a lot of texture with the paint strokes themselves. With this painting, I wanted to use the colors throughout the image in all objects. So you see the pie crust color in the glass, background and table. The same it true with the “cherry” color. Here is texture of the pie and the brush strokes in the pan. The second close up shows the colors in the glass.
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Cheesecake and Pie

This painting has several distinctions. It is a large painting with many treats. All of the pastries employ my 3-d impasto technique. The pan colors are more muted than some of my other pastry paintings which gives it a more somber feel. On the impasto pies and cakes, two colors are mixed on the paintings. Glazing adds depth. It is a successful painting. 20"x24", acrylic on board.

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Grand Bakery

This is the showstopper! It measures 30” x 24” plus the frame and commands your attention. The painting was designed to capture the essence of the entire bakery experience and contains elements of all the other paintings. The fruit, cookies and bread are actually sculpted from very thick paint. The strawberries are nearly an inch high. A brush is used sparingly--knives shape and move the media into its correct place. This is a wonderful painting.

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Three Cakes

This painting is much larger than it looks here. It measures a sweeping 30 inches wide and is 15” tall. It has “presence” with this dramatic view of the cakes. Clearly, it would be the focal point of a gourmet kitchen. This painting was featured in the prestigious 2007 Woman’s Work Art show, juried by famed artist Judy Chicago.  ©2007 Barbara Sistak Baur

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