I Play with My Food!

I usually rush home from work at nights to try to get diner ready before 9:00 p.m. so that I could have some painting time. This usually doesn't work out that way because once I start getting ready to cook I start playing with the food. If my mother could just read this she would smack me across the head! We have all been told at some point not to play with our food, but what can I say, playing with my onions, tomatoes, etc has paid off. It must seem funny to my partner looking at me running around the kitchen camera in hand while chopping and stirring. I always have my camera handy because you never know what you'll see.

I have been painting still lives for a long time, but after moving out of my parents' home my paintings became a little more personal because this time around I was painting objects and scenes that happen on day to day basis. I got into cooking as a necessity more than any thing else. Mama wasn't around any more! These paintings are very connected to my life and I enjoy the process of it, from the kitchen to the easel.

Olive Oil, Two Onions and Tomato, 2006, oil on canvas, 13 x 9 inches

Vinegar, Onions and Tomato, 2006, oil on canvas, 17 x 14 inches

Lately I've become interested in painting single/central subjects. I had always shied away from this kind of composition because teachers in school would always tell you to stay away from the center. Finally I went with what I felt and I think it works for me. I like the overlooked vegetables and objects turn out to look like the are on a pedestal in these paintings, thus making them idealized.

Vine Ripe Tomatoes, 2006, oil on panel, 9 x 9 inches

Yellow Onion in Bowl, 2006, oil on panel, 12 x 9 inches