These 5 Artists Turn Food Into Art You Can Almost Taste
Art has always been about exploration, sensation, and finding new ways to engage the senses. While brushes, pencils, and digital tools dominate the canvas, some visionary artists choose an unconventional medium food itself. From vibrant vegetables and fruits to rich chocolate and delicate spices, they transform everyday ingredients into stunning visual experiences that delight the eyes and ignite imagination.
At the Arts to Hearts Project, we celebrate creators who push the boundaries of traditional art forms. Food artists are explorers of texture, colour, and form. A careful slice, a playful drizzle, or a bold arrangement can evoke emotion, memory, or wonder. Their work is both ephemeral and powerful, inviting us to pause, look closely, and savour the creativity in every detail.
This week, we shine a light on artists who choose to paint with food, transforming ordinary ingredients into extraordinary works of art. Through their hands, a simple carrot becomes a brushstroke, a swirl of sauce, a layer of emotion, and a sprinkle of spice, a punctuation of energy. Every creation carries life, movement, and presence, proving that art can be as delicious as it is beautiful.
Maura K Spain @maurakspain
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Maura K Spain is an oil painter whose work turns the everyday into quietly beautiful moments. Her focus is still life, often of food, capturing the domestic and intimate with a sensitivity that draws viewers in. Maura’s paintings aren’t grand or flashy; they honour the small, unassuming gestures of life: a bowl of fruit sitting by the window, slices of bread resting on a counter, or baked treats bathed in soft kitchen light. Each piece evokes a sense of comfort, memory, and a gentle pause in the day. In her art, texture, colour, and form matter deeply. Maura handles oil paint with care, letting surfaces convey the weight, gloss, and tactile presence of her subjects.
The subtle shifts in tone, the “yummy textures,” and the interplay of light and shadow give her work a lived-in, tangible quality. Her compositions are composed and deliberate yet feel natural, inviting the viewer to linger over the quiet beauty of everyday objects. What sets Maura apart is how she frames food not as spectacle, but as a vessel for feeling. Her paintings celebrate calm, warmth, and intimacy reminding us of life’s small pleasures. Through her brush, ordinary meals and ingredients become meditations: moments of stillness rendered in soft light, warm tones, and compositions that feel deeply personal and heartfelt.
Sarah L Underwood @sarahlunderwood
Sarah L Underwood is a UK-based oil painter whose work transforms everyday food into moments of quiet beauty. Her still life’s capture the simplicity and comfort of daily life be it a bowl of cherries, a slice of watermelon, or a cup of tea. Each piece invites viewers to pause and appreciate the small, often overlooked details that bring warmth to our lives. Through her Etsy shop, SarahLUnderwoodArt, Sarah offers original oil paintings that evoke a sense of nostalgia and joy. Her work is characterized by its vibrant colours, soft textures, and the intimate portrayal of food items.
Whether it’s the glossy sheen of a ripe plum or the inviting glow of a cup of coffee, Sarah’s paintings celebrate the tactile and visual pleasures of everyday moments. Sarah’s approach to painting is rooted in a love for the simple pleasures of life. Her works are not just depictions of food but are meditations on the beauty found in the mundane. By focusing on these quiet moments, Sarah reminds us to slow down and savour the small joys that make life rich and meaningful. For those seeking art that brings warmth and a sense of calm to their spaces, Sarah L Underwood’s paintings offer a delightful and heartfelt addition. Her work is a testament to the beauty of everyday life and the joy found in the simplest of things.
Victoria Georgieva @veryberrydraws
Based in Sofia, Bulgaria. Victoria Georgieva paints food with a joy that’s truly contagious. Her work is playful, colorful, and full of energy, transforming everyday ingredients into vibrant celebrations of life. Strawberries glow with saturated reds, watermelon slices shine in dreamy pinks, and bowls of fruit burst with texture and light in Victoria’s hands, the simple becomes magical. Her style blends the illustrative with the painterly. She sketches, studies, and then brings her subjects to life with bold colors, lush contrasts, and a touch of whimsy. Food in her hands isn’t static; it shines, hums, and sometimes feels like it could float off the page. Shadows deepen, highlights sparkle, and fruit glows with an intensity that draws you in.
Victoria connects her art to everyday life. Through her Ko-fi shop, Very Berry Art, her food paintings appear as prints, stickers, and other creative products, allowing fans to bring her joyful style into their homes. Her berries, peaches, and desserts don’t just stay on canvas, they decorate walls, journals, and daily objects, turning ordinary moments into extensions of her art. Her creative world is generous and playful. Through commissions, art challenges, and collaborations, she invites others into her process. Each piece feels like a slice of joy, carefully painted and offered with warmth and accessibility. Her Art shows us that art doesn’t need to stay in galleries; it can live in kitchens, notebooks, and everyday life. Through her vibrant palette, open-hearted approach, and her shop that brings her work into people’s daily lives, she transforms food into something both familiar and fantastical: a celebration of colour, taste, and joy that lingers long after you’ve seen it.
Jola Sopek @jolapictures
Jola Sopek, the artist behind Jola Pictures, paints food with a softness that feels almost like memory. Originally from Poland and now based in the south of England, Jola is a self-taught watercolor artist who has built a world where fruit, vegetables, and little everyday snacks are given space to shine. Her work has an intimacy to it delicate washes of color, translucent layers, and playful details that make even the simplest radish or blackberry feel like a treasure. Her relationship with watercolor is one of trust. She lets the paint flow, allowing pigments to bleed, edges to soften, and colors to overlap in ways that feel spontaneous and alive. A slice of dragonfruit might shimmer with subtle gradations, a cucumber might carry the coolness of fresh green, or a handful of berries might glow as though still kissed by sunlight. It’s this mix of control and surrender that gives her art its warmth: precise enough to be recognizable, loose enough to feel alive.
What makes Jola’s work so special is her belief that food is more than just sustenance; it’s joy, comfort, and culture. Her “Snacks” series, for example, feels like flipping through a diary of flavors and moods: hummus bowls, citrus slices, charcuterie spreads, each painted not to impress but to share. Beyond her own painting practice, Jola is passionate about sharing watercolor with others. She teaches workshops online and in person, encouraging people to discover the freedom and joy in letting water and pigment move together. In her art, a radish isn’t just a radish it’s color, pattern, memory. A handful of cherries isn’t just fruit, it’s joy, sweetness, and summer. Through her gentle brushwork, she invites us to look again at the food in front of us, to notice the beauty we often overlook, and to savor the small things.
Tanja Jensen @tanja.j.art
Tanja Jensen is a Danish artist who sees food not just as subject, but as a doorway to memory, colour, and play. Based in Denmark, Tanja paints with watercolor and gouache, using these gentle mediums to capture the small, sweet moments that tie us to one another.Her paintings are playful and light, but they carry a quiet depth. A milkshake, with its frothy top and pastel glow, isn’t just a dessert, it’s a memory of carefree days. A soda can, with its glossy reflections and fizz, becomes a reminder of friendships and shared pauses. She paints the ordinary with such affection that it feels extraordinary, urging us to slow down and notice the joy hidden in everyday life.
Tanja has said: “It’s never just about the food though but the lived experiences surrounding it and the memories we create with our loved ones. Memories that connect us.” That sentiment is at the heart of her art. Her style reflects this softness. Watercolour washes glow with transparency, while gouache adds weight and texture. Colours are dreamy and inviting pastel pinks, creamy whites, fresh blues layered with just enough detail to bring each piece to life. Her compositions feel open and airy, like there’s space to breathe, space to remember. In Tanja’s hands, food becomes more than something we eat. It becomes a story, a connection, a reminder of moments that matter. Her work invites us not just to look, but to feel to taste memory, to savour presence, and to carry those small joys with us long after the paint has dried.
Food has never just been about eating. It’s about memories, comfort, and connection and in the hands of these artists, it becomes something even more magical. A simple loaf of bread, a handful of cherries, or a glass of soda is transformed into a story we can see and feel. What’s beautiful about their work is how personal it is. Each painting carries a trace of the artist’s own love for the small things, the quiet rituals, the flavors that remind us of home, the joy of sharing something simple with the people we care about.
Their art makes us pause and notice, reminding us that beauty doesn’t always shout. Sometimes, it lives every day. At the Arts to Hearts Project, we celebrate artists who turn ordinary moments into extraordinary ones. So, the next time you sit down with a meal, a coffee, or even just a snack, take a moment. Look at it closely. Feel the colours, the textures, the memory it carries. Because, as these artists show us, food isn’t just food it’s art, and it’s a story worth telling.
