Feasting on Art

My big writing project is almost over and I am very happy to be able to spend a bit more time on this space. I have an exciting series of posts lined up in conjunction with the writing project because there are so many fantastic artists here in Australia. I want to devote a bit of time and space on this blog highlighting a few of my favourites besides Heysen, Hawkins, Olsen and Drew who have already made an appearance on this blog. I am also working on a series with my very talented friend Cassie so keep your eye on this space for lots of new things. In anticipation for an upcoming degustation trip to the Blue Mountains with some friends I have been testing out a few soup recipes. This is one of my favorites and is perfect for the cold weather we have been having.

Paul Cézanne, Still Life with Onions and a Bottle, 1895-1900
oil on canvas, 66 x 81 cm, The Louvre, Paris

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As a Midwest girl I was very excited when Chicago blogger Dana from Real Food Rehab sent me an email regarding a collaboration. She very kindly interviewed me for her site and we quickly began to assemble ideas. The Art Institute of Chicago has always been very near and dear to my heart (it houses the painting that began my still life education) and I was delighted when Dana suggested we pick a painting to highlight an upcoming exhibition at the museum. Dana is a regular contributor to the Huffington Post and combines a unique viewpoint to the vast food blogsphere. A few of my favorite posts are her pickled asparagus and the review of The Flavor Bible, one of my oft-used cooking resources. Thanks for collaborating with me Dana!

Visit Dana’s blog Real Food Rehab for a rustic apple tart recipe.

Henri Matisse, Apples, 1916, Oil on canvas, 116.9 x 88.9 cm, Art Institute of Chicago
© 2010 Succession H. Matisse / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

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Culinaria – The Cuisine of the Sun is an exhibition of paintings by the artist John Olsen that recently opened here in Sydney at the Tim Olsen Gallery. The show is a foodie/art lover’s dream come true – a collection of paintings in Olsen’s signature squiggly style of all of his favourite recipes. In conjunction with the exhibition, Olsen penned a cookbook with Andy Harris. In this instance the art was directly inspired by a recipe – food to art and now back to food again. With my recipe I wanted to capture the colour of the sun, in reference to the exhibition title, as well as the colours and compositional shapes found in the painting.
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I am so happy to reinstate the monthly collaborative feature here on Feasting on Art. Alyson, the designer behind the website redesign, is also the blogger behind the charming design site, Unruly Things. I visit her blog daily to gush over pretty vintage finds and inspiring photography. In addition to her design company Seventy & Sunny, Alyson runs a letterpress shop called Postal Press where her appreciation for specimen charts manifested into a letterpress calendar. It seemed only appropriate that we would deconstruct a botanical art illustration.

Visit Alyson’s blog, Unruly Things, for the recipe for Pear Almond Sticky Buns.

Johann Christian Berndt, Plate 21, 1809-1812,
colour plate of pear varieties from Johann Ludwig Christ’s book, Vollständige pomologie, Royal Horticultural Society
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This recipe was a last minute addition to my Thanksgiving menu last year after landing in Brisbane during a heatwave and realizing that my butter-heavy winter dishes from the Midwest would not do. The salad was delightfully light and refreshing and was the only dish to be finished at dinner. It was not until making the recipe for this post that I was able to experience the pleasure of eating these beans as leftovers – the vinaigrette ever so slightly pickles the beans which gives them an entirely new flavor and texture. I am a glutton for all things pickled and I selfishly gobbled up all of the beans without sharing them with anyone!

Julian Opie, Still Life with Green Beans, Chilli Pepper and Carrots, 2001
lambda print with laminated onto canvas, with a gloss seal, mounted on stretcher, 39 x 65 cm

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