Food For Thought...Painting Summer Treats

'Summer Sweetness'         8x10         pastel         ©Karen Margulis

In honor of the Fourth of July I thought I would paint some of my favorite summer treats.  Actually it is a very good exercise to switch it up and paint something that isn't your usual subject matter. I don't usually paint any kind of still life and when I do I prefer to paint close-up views of the still life set up. I do the same for my landscape too.
 I love to paint food....especially sweets!  I usually prefer to use Sennelier LaCarte paper for my food paintings but for this watermelon painting I used a Pastelbord. I built up the layers of pastel starting with my darkest coolest reds and gradually getting warmer and more intense reds. The seeds were put in at the end.  Finally I decided to dust some pink and red pastels to help give that wet juicy look to my watermelon.

'Fralingers...A Taste of the Shore'         5x7          pastel

 What is so great about painting food?  What can you learn?

• Food doesn't move. You can set it up the way you like and it will stay put. You can take your time unless it is a perishable food in which case you can at least take photos of your set up.
• It is easy to play around with composition. Unlike in a landscape it is much easier to move a piece of candy than move a bush or tree.
• You can experiment with color. It is fun to push the colors in the food to make it more interesting.(and tasty looking)
• You can work on your drawing skills. It is easier to fudge a bush but you have to be more accurate when painting the food and dishes if you want them to look real.
• Food is readily available....you may not have a photo that inspires you but you probably have some fruit of candy around.

I have an idea to do a series of ice cream paintings. I just have to be careful not to eat too much of my subject! Ice cream is my weakness!