Joël penkman art

What you're looking at here are paintings ... let that sink in a bit.

Joël’s work is nothing short of jaw-dropping. She describes her paintings as "semi-photorealistic", but we think they look good enough to eat. Working from photographic references, she has the rare ability to paint everyday objects with such minute detail and accuracy that you would be forgiven for thinking they are photographs.

Her paintings are created in egg tempera, a paint made fresh each day from mixing ground pigment colour with egg yolk. From Monster Munch, cakes and sweets and branded condiments to books, ornaments and tools, Joël uses the paint to illustrate every crinkle, sheen and detail of her subject.

Originating from New Zealand but now residing in Liverpool, her work has graced everywhere from the Royal Academy of the Arts Summer Exhibition, books for Phaidon, to the walls of EAT and advertising campaigns for McDonalds.

Joël Penkman loves food and loves to paint, so combining these two passions seemed a good idea to her.

Her compositions are simple still-life studies with clean backgrounds to make easier for individuals to make a connection. Food triggers memories and emotions: “I hope my pictures will make people smile”.

Penkman’s favourite medium is egg tempera. It is very time consuming as she makes the gesso to prepare her boards and she grinds her own paint to mix.

Joël Penkman was born in 1979 in New Zealand. After finishing her degree in Graphic Design at Canterbury University’s School of Fine Art, she moved to the UK to work as a graphic designer and most recently a freelance designer and artist.

Images courtesy of Joël Penkman

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Joël Penkman is artist and illustrator best known for her paintings of food.

Facts About Joël Penkman

• Joël Penkman was born in New Zealand in 1979.
• She currently lives in Liverpool, UK.
• She studied Graphic Design at the Canterbury University School of Fine Arts in New Zealand.
• She moved to England and worked as a freelance graphic designer for 6 years.
• When she is painting food, she begins by taking lots of photographs, and then she uses Photoshop to combine parts of the images to create an image she is happy with.
• She paints in egg tempura. This is an old painting method, most popular in the 1400s. The paint is made by combining egg yolk and handground paint pigment. The paint dries very fast and it must be applied in layers.
• Egg tempura paint is not flexible enough to be painted onto standard canvases or paper. As a result, Joël Penkman prepares wooden boards coated with genuine gesso. Each gesso board must be sanded and polished before the egg tempura paint can be applied.
• Most of her paintings are started with blue brushstrokes.
• It usually takes