A lively instructional guide to painting still-life food subjects, packed with tips, tricks, and step-by-step demonstrations.

Food is something that artists have always painted, but the subject is reaching a peak of popularity, with a special EAT section included in a recent Royal Institute of Oil Painters Annual Show. And it’s an easily accessible subject for any painter: all you need to do is set up a satisfying composition of your favourite foods on your table and start painting!

Renowned oil painter Lotta Teale, who considers food as one of her favourite subjects, takes you through everything you need to know in the following chapters:

• Background: the history and philosophy of food painting
• Set-up: practical considerations for choosing food and gathering equipment and media
• Composition: how to arrange food pleasingly for painting
• Light: capturing the effects of light in your work
• The Painting Process: how to best represent the subject in paint
• Subjects: a deep dive into painting specific foods and tableware, including fruit, vegetables, bread, glass, ceramics, and even food in plastic packets.

About The Author

Lotta Teale is a painter of figurative oil paintings, inspired by early twentieth-century painters such as the Scottish Colourists and William Nicholson. In 2023 Lotta was elected Associate Member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. In 2021 she won first prize in the British Art Prize, and in 2022 she held her first West End solo exhibition at the Panter and Hall gallery. She is a member of Chelsea Arts Club. For the last few years, she has lived between Jerusalem, Islamabad, Tuscany, Bangkok, and London, and currently lives in Moldova.