Sweet (and Savory) Art: Paintings Mike Geno

Now, my first inclination is to say that Mike Geno's artwork is totally sweet: after all, he does have a great breadth of work comprised of thoughtful, painterly renderings of doughnuts, cakes both homemade and packaged (including Tastykakes!), and various candies.

But I wouldn't want to overlook his fine work focused on beef, bacon, and steak, either.

So what motivates this series of foodie-based art? Per the artist's website,

This series of food still life paintings is directly related to my obsessive enjoyment of food and how that enjoyment connects me to a larger community. More specifically these paintings are all ready-to-eat subjects that are presented in a range of displays including abstraction through decorative groupings as well as a more traditional single object presentation. I am interested in exploring, through paint, the attractive qualities of various food items that we are sold in the consumer culture we exist in. 

Of course, as the artist continues, "My intention is to address the subject in this context rather than monumentalize it and also to avoid the pitfalls of the over-traveled path of traditional food still life painting."

Ultimately, Mike's goal is "to be absurdly successful, perhaps less poor and the envy of all the right people"--and, I daresay, able to afford to eat whatever he wants, whenever he wants to eat it. And it's a delight to travel this carb, protein, and sugar-heavy world through his work.

Paintings and prints by Mike Geno are available here, and will soon be available at the CakeSpy retail shop.

Sweet Art: Milk and Cookies Love Cupcakes

So, milk and cookies are basically the quintessential sweet snack pairing--but what do they like to snack on when they get hungry?

Apparently, they're not immune to the cupcake trend sweeping the world!

Sweet Art: Dedicated to the Ones I love

This piece is what they call a "crowd pleaser"--officially dedicated to cupcake lovers, vegans, hipsters, and bacon lovers--also known as everybody I know.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Art at Crafty Wonderland in Portland!

Brace yourself, Portland--you're about to get a lot sweeter.

That's right: CakeSpy is coming to Portland, OR, to sell art at the incredibly awesome Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale!

Come on by and enjoy all manner of DIY delights and pick up some sweet artwork! Here are the details:

Crafty Wonderland Super Colossal Spring Sale
Saturday + Sunday, May 1st + 2nd, 2010
11am - 5pm at the Oregon Convention Center Exhibit Hall D 777 NE MLK Jr. Blvd. Portland, OR 97232
Free Admission! All Ages!

More info online at craftywonderland.com.

Sweet Art: Dip for Illustration Friday

Not to alarm you, but I'm pretty sure Cuppie just double-dipped. Not cool, Cuppie.

Done for this week's Illustration Friday theme of Dip.

Muraling in Minneapolis: The Sweetest Bathroom in the World, at Cake Eater Bakery

When the highly anticipated Cake Eater Bakery opens next month in Minneapolis, here's what you're going to do.

1. You're going to either drive, bike, or walk over, if you're in Minneapolis; if not, sorry, but you're going to have to book yourself a flight.

2. Order something at the counter. I'm not the boss of you, so I'm not going to tell you what to order, because pretty much everything I've tasted that they've made is very delicious.

3. You take your treat to go, and hightail it...to the bathroom.

Yes, the bathroom. Because, my friends, Cake Eater has what is undoubtedly the sweetest, awesomest, best bathroom in the world--because it's the only bathroom in the world to have a mural done by CakeSpy.

Yup--it's true: I just spent several days muraling in Minneapolis, and the outcome couldn't be sweeter.

The mural itself is loosely based on battle scenes from The Lord of the Rings--reinterpreted with pastry characters.

A flaming Orthanc Tower is being righteously put out by a stream of pouring milk, care of to-go coffee cups;

a noble Gandalf-inspired cake (on a unicorn for added magic) leads a crew of brave warriors to battle;

the pie warriors defend their territory;

and of course, a delicious piecemeal army is coming in from the other side to help win the war of sweetness.

and to think--this is what it looked like before:

...and here's a panorama to give you an idea of how it all comes together:

I know, I know--you've just found your favorite bathroom in the world.

Cake Eater Bakery is coming soon to 2929 E 25th St in Minneapolis! For the latest info, stay up to date via their website, blog, Facebook, and of course Twitter feeds. Oh, and you can get totally sweet tees here!

Mac Attack: Sweet French Lessons for Beginners at Versailles

Let's face it: nobody wants to be the American in Paris who can't even take a stab at bonjour. But I know it can be hard to get motivated to learn a new language, so I've put together a sweet lesson of useful phrases, all taught by the sweetest of fluent speaking teachers--French macarons--in the sweetest of classrooms: the opulent Palace of Versailles.

Commençons! 

What to say when those freedom-loving French ladies bare all? You tell them to reign it in. Translation: "Be Modest!"

Even though you're in a foreign country, you should never feel like you can't speak your mind. Translation: "My apartment is nicer."

If you're enjoying yourself, by all means, let it be known! Translation: "I'm the king of the world!"

Because you never know when you'll brush shoulders with greatness...Translation: "Hello Descartes. What's up?"

Now, little macaron, that's just rude! This is a family site.

Be polite, but do let your desires be known. Translation: "I'm hungry!" and response "Where's the beef?"

Of course, you should be aware that sometimes different cultures have customs which we might not understand. Translation: "The horror!"

...and of course, because we are at Versailles, let's give a little shout-out to Marie Antoinette's famous declaration. Roughly translates to "Let them eat cake!"

See? You're practically fluent already. Learning French was never so much fun--or so délicieux.

Sweet Art: Brave for Illustration Friday

Be brave, little Cuppies! Really, he's just a big softie.

For Illustration Friday's theme this week: Brave.

Sweet Art: Perspective for Illustration Friday

When you think of perspective in art, usually the first inclination is to think of the visual point of view. But sometimes the point of view of the artist is just as interesting: case in point, Frida Kahlo. She was a fearless painter, not afraid of painting her emotions or her unibrow. And I hear that she made a mean pan de muerto as well, so that makes her a-ok in my book.

And it makes her (in cupcake form, natch) a perfect fit for this week's Illustration Friday theme of Perspective. This is a painting I did as a custom request--I think the unibrow is quite becoming on Cuppie.

Sweet Art: Cuppie Cannibalism

Hey, before you get all high and mighty and act shocked, just think about it this way--cupcakes need a snack too.

Or, as Chris Farley would say, "Lay off me, I'm starving!"