Thursday, April 8, 2010

Why Do I Keep Painting Food?

11x14 inches, oil on canvas board

Over the past couple years for some unknown reason my favorite paintings have been of food.  I've painted peppermint candies, lemons, cupcakes, and now these donuts.  I wonder if my subconscious is trying to tell me something.  But what?  I eat plenty, as shown by my current middle-aged stockiness.  Peasant woman.  This experiment in pastry painting was completed for an online challenge (Calypso Moon Artist Movement), as were all the other food painted already mentioned.  The little sprinkles just about drove me nuts, although I think they turned out OK.  I think the strongest part of the painting is the chocolate donut, which was the first one off the plate and into the mouth.  The weakest is the lacy-edged milk glass plate, though with that chocolate donut, my attitude is more or less, "who cares?"

I've been doing lots of online challenges lately, partially because I enjoy seeing how lots of other people respond to a prompt, partially because it motivates me to get going and paint, and partially because I wanted to write an article for a regional art magazine encouraging people to try online challenges.  The article is done and mailed out, so I may slack off for a bit.  Or maybe not...

12 comments:

Teri said...

Awesome painting Sherry. Looks good enough to eat!

JoAnn said...

I think the whole painting is EXCELLENT, Sherry......the plate is great and so are the sprinkles. How did you do them?

Sharon said...

Wonderful! I know this wasn't easy to do.

Sally Evans said...

Hey I love the lace! I'm very excited to be doing the online challenges! And I am enjoying the online community. Right....I'm off to find some food for my own still life and morning tea of course.

Ann said...

Wonderful painting! Everything about it looks perfect. Now I am hungry for something sticky and sweet :-)

Mark Adams said...

Sherry, There is so much to like about this painting. The background. for instance , has a woodcut feel to it. The vanishing point perspective projects the piece forward and stabilizes it at the same time. What I really find compelling is the countdown effect. Starting at 12:00 with that intense red, less so at 3:00, quite somber at 6:00 and on until dark. A metaphor for how long the doughnuts lasted? You tell me. The confetti of sprinkles remind me of a crowded stadium waiting for the big game, whatever it may be. They look delicious, btw.

Earthula said...

Hello Sherry!
How nice to meet you here, over a plate of donuts.
The milk glass plate is marvelous... the whole painting is, in my estimation.
You have captured all the textures, glass, glaze, wood, dough, sprinkles.
And the contour of the donut through the sprinkles... That is observation. And Patience.

I would bite it!

Barbara said...

You have a lot of pleasing and contrasting textures. And the chocolate doughnut really does look delicious.

Art By Erika said...

Hi Sherry! I would love to join you for some of that chocolate donut! You nailed what makes it appealing to me - the dark shadows of the cake part and the sheen on the somewhat hardened chocolate frosting. I read the milk glass as a white paper doily and I was actually impressed with the presentation. For some reason a paper doily or maybe a stiff linen doily dressed up the moment for me. Very effective painting!

Claire Beadon Carnell said...

If I am going to indulge and eat a donut, it is going to have to have some chocolate in or on it somewhere! These two delicious beauties would be my dream breakfast with a hot cup of coffee...and although you think your dish is the weakest part of the painting, I recognized it as milkglass immediately and thought how well it set off the food. Great sprinkles!

Calypso Moon Artist Movement said...

I think you keep painting food because you do it extremely well. I've never seen such a pretty presentation of one of my favorite bad foods.

laura said...

Great painting, and a great response to the challenge (I have to avoid doughnuts: I can't eat just one!)
Everytime I visit I see more challenges in your sidebar! I've downloaded a lot of photos but haven't painted yet!