Art and Food… Why Paint a Pepper?

“Candle and Fruits”, 8 x 10″, oil, Karen Gillis Taylor

For centuries artists have painted food. Andy Worhol even painted cans containing food. Cezanne’s fruits and Wayne Thiebaud’s luscious dessert paintings are my favorites. For me, it’s a chance to use color in a really appetizing way! And you don’t have to ask your subject to hold still for just another hour or so.

Peppers are great subjects for still life. They come with built-in shine and glow, and so do most grapes and tomatoes. Eggplants are amazing too, the purple ones. If an artist wants to paint foods, I’d suggest these favorites first. After that, apples, oranges and pears might be painted with a little more glow than you see in their natural state. I love going for the glow!

Then, we can all just stare at Thiebaud’s tempting parade of pie slices and wish we could grab a cup of coffee or tea and just dig in!