Artist's paintings of food are so realistic they'll make your mouth water
New Zealand-born, UK-based artist Joël Penkman combines her love of food and painting to create astoundingly realistic (and delicious looking) works of art.
Mashable spoke with Penkman to learn more about the inspiration behind her food-inspired semi-photorealistic and contemporary still-life paintings.
You May Also Like
After finishing her degree in Graphic Design at Canterbury University's School of Fine Art, Penkman moved to the UK where she worked as a graphic designer for six years before freelancing and painting.
Though Penkman does not exclusively paint food, she shared, "I do like the familiarity of food as a subject, it is something everyone can relate to. It can hold memories, tell stories, explore national and local identity, and make us hungry. It is a fun, playful subject that makes people smile."
When asked about her painting process, Penkman explained that she paints from a combination of her own photos and real life. "Each painting starts with an idea of what I'd like to paint. I'll make rough drawings and take a number of photos until I find the composition I want. Sometimes this involves making and baking my subject first."
Penkman mostly paints in egg tempera, an older painting method which fell out of favor during the 15th century after the creation of oil paint. Though egg tempera is a bit time consuming and difficult to use, she prefers making her own paint and describes the medium as having "a beautiful satin finish with a luminous quality that comes from the light reflecting through the many semi-transparent layers of color."
The egg tempera requires a rigid and absorbent surface, such as traditional gesso. "I prepare all my gesso boards by hand, which is itself a lengthy process of cleaning, sizing, applying many layers of gesso, then sanding and polishing it smooth for painting onto," Penkman said.
Though Penkman does not have a single favorite piece she has painted, some she still enjoys a great deal are: "Biscuits in a Line" -- her first food painting -- "Shoe Polish," "Summer Fruit Jelly," and "Fruit Spectrum."
To learn more about Penkman and see the rest of her art, visit her website.
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Nicole is a Senior Editor at Mashable. She primarily covers entertainment and digital culture trends, and in her free time she can be found watching TV, sending voice notes, or going viral on Twitter for admiring knitwear. You can follow her on Twitter @nicolemichele5.
