Feasting on Art

Life has been hectic as of late. I am in the process of moving house and saying goodbye to my first Sydney home and the beautiful light the big windows provided. I have been dividing my time between cleaning, packing and doing a bit of home repair as an indoor painter with only a nominal amount of time left to cook. This recipe, a concoction of odds and ends from the pantry, was simple, quick and full of flavour. Rolled into a lettuce leaf, the spicy salad is edible on the go and keeps for a couple of days in the refrigerator.

Raphaelle Peale, Still Life with Steak, c.1917
oil on panel, 33.97 x 49.53 cm, Munson Williams Proctor Museum of Art

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As soon as I saw the recipe for lime cordial on The Traveler’s Lunchbox I knew I had to make a batch. A sale on grapefruit and oranges prompted me into action and the result could not be more delicious. It became a sip of summer in my chilly Sydney flat. With Australia being my new home, I thought it was high time I featured some Australian art. Technically Weaver Hawkins is British but he was a significant artist in the 1940s in Sydney and his work is found in most of the public collections. A dynamic painting needs a dynamic drink and I find this to be the perfect partnership of art fare.

Weaver Hawkins, Little Group with Grapefruit, 1942
oil on board, 36 x 46 cm, Private collection

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I can’t stand passing up a good bargain and last week lemons were on sale. Like my carrots from my previous post the lemons were beginning to look a bit tired. They had sat prettily in my shell shaped bowl on my counter with only one being sacrificed for a tangy lemon vinaigrette. I will try not to pick art based on the current contents of my fridge but I was craving something fresh and light and I just happened to have a heap of lemons. This week I am sticking to my American roots and I am making a no churn (the best kind) ice cream with orange and lemon and a hint of mint. The painting you ask?? Why it is by none other than the great Raphaelle Peale who is considered to be American’s first professional still life painter (1).

Raphaelle Peale, A Dessert (Still Life with Lemons and Oranges), 1814
oil on panel, 33.97 x 42.26 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington

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