Rothko-Inspired Food Portraits
I’ve been a big Rothko mark since I was a teenager. Something about his color-blocked paintings spoke to me on a deep level, even though I didn’t have the chance to see one up close for well over a decade. But when I did, ahhhh, something unlocked inside of me. It was a beautiful, meditative experience, even though I had to share it with so many other museum visitors that day. I still haven’t made it to the Rothko Chapel in Houston, but it’s on my bucket list, for sure.
All this is to say that, when I started working on a new personal project of food portraits in the style of my favorite modern artists, Rothko was a surefire first choice for me. I experimented with a few different foods, and have ideas for others, but these are the ones that I think landed. Up top you see layered jams in shades of red, purple and gold, blocked off, but still retaining a bit of an organic shape around the edges.
I also tried my hand at the Italian flag with blocks of pesto, Parmesan cheese and marinara.
Peanut butter & jelly are a natural, iconic pairing that lent itself well to this Rothko-inspired approach. I played a bit with it and couldn’t decide if I preferred the strictly blocked-off version in the middle or its more organic neighbor with swirls of peanut butter breaking the planes of the rectangle. I do tend to be drawn to more free-flowing shapes and concepts, but I also vacillate, so you get both!
This personal project prompted me to revisit my shop to add prints of these photos as well as other favorite images for sale. I mocked up everything in a room environment to make it easier to envision how they can work in your home or retail space.
