Friday, March 2, 2012

Cook in a Malaysian Restaurant Kitchen

oil on board
6"x6"
sold

A few weeks ago I ate at a great Philly Malaysian restaurant called Banana Leaf. I asked the cooks for permission to take some pictures of the open kitchen area. Although they didn't mind, this guy gave me and my camera a pretty wary look. He was doing something with a small mountain of mangoes.

After spending some time this past week drawing instead of painting, I felt a little impatient with how difficult it is to paint a face that is only an inch tall. Working with the precision of pencil (and a blending stomp) was satisfying. Still, I wanted to get a definite likeness in this scene because this young man's expression was what drew me in.

5 comments:

  1. THis is great, Taryn - the wary expression, so well captured. Do you miss working from life? Are you waiting until natural light is more plentiful (in the summer)?

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  2. This is great! The shapes, the simplification, and the expression looks so natural.

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  3. Thanks Sarah. Yes, I do miss working from life, even though learning to work from photographs (using my monitor) has allowed me to expand my subject matter. The other day I went to Whole Foods to find some vegetables or fruits to paint, and felt totally uninspired. Still, I need to get back to still life and landscape.
    Also I'm working 20 hours a week now, and working from my computer monitor means I can work into the evenings.

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  4. You did a great job of capturing his look but also the body stance too.

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  5. The expression is wonderful, you can tell he is wondering what the heck you are doing taking his picture! The colors and composition really create a sense of kitchen activity! Love it.
    (Miss seeing you up on DPP!)

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