Strawberry Shortcakes

 "Strawberry Shortcake #1" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

"Strawberry Shortcake #2" -- oil on canvas 6x6"

Oh boy -- I'm running way behind on my posts!   I've been very busy painting, and now that the snow's finally melted (!), there's my morning bike ride and gardening chores.

One of my friends told me a secret used by advertising photographers.  For non-melting ice cream and whipped cream, they would beat up Crisco and powdered sugar.  So I experimented with this technique.  It worked!  In fact, these paintings were done a couple weeks ago and I still have a bowl of the "ice cream" sitting on my kitchen counter, looking as fresh as the day it was made.

When I finished painting these two, I gave the setup to the chickens.  They dove into it!  Kind of funny to watch them.  Their beaks were soon covered with the Crisco-powdered sugar.  It was completely devoured within 5 minutes.