Milkshake Speed Painting – The Making of ‘Yesterday’s Dessert’
Milkshake Speed Painting by contemporary artist Bart Carels. This quirky still life captures two McDonald’s strawberry milkshakes, leftover from a random late-night snack run during Covid. Painted fast with leftover acrylics and no prep, it’s a loose, playful tribute to pop culture and poor dinner decisions.
Title: ‘Yesterday’s Dessert’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020
‘Yesterday’s Dessert’ – Acrylic on canvas by Bart Carels (2020)
How I Created This Milkshake Speed Painting
This one came straight from real life — and real fast food. One night we went for a drive, didn’t feel like cooking, and ended up in the McDrive. Covid was still going strong, so everything was handed out on trays attached to long sticks. Kind of surreal, to be honest. After regretting my burger choice (the “Double Tasty” isn’t making the list again), I looked down at the milkshakes and thought, “Yeah, that’s a painting.”
Instead of prepping a new canvas, I used what I had from the day before. I grabbed the leftover paint and sketched the composition using Vermillion. That base color still shows through in spots, which actually works well with the yellow M logos on the cups.
To make the cups pop, I added a teal background. The contrast pulled everything forward and made the scene more playful. For the shadows, I used a mix of white, magenta, cyan, and primary yellow — adjusting as I went to keep things loose. The cardboard tray holding the cups got a few darker tones mixed in with magenta and blue for more depth.
This milkshake speed painting stayed rough on purpose. I didn’t want to overwork it. It was about capturing the moment — fast, imperfect, and kind of funny in hindsight. Definitely one of those “accidental favorite” pieces.
Painting Specs
- One-of-a-kind artwork
- Medium: Acrylic on canvas
- Size: 24×18 cm / 9×7 inches
- Color Palette: Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black | White
Availability
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