I bet you have what I consider a “special dish”: something that comforts the mind as much as (or more than) it nourishes the body. Perhaps it is something you make only occasionally and/or that is a bit more complicated than your standard fare. Perhaps it is Christmas cookies, a Thanksgiving pie, a birthday cake, or cinnamon rolls made from grandma’s recipe. Or, perhaps it is something relatively simple to make that has become a Saturday breakfast tradition for your kids as they’ve gotten older.
While we can acknowledge that these moments are fleeting, we can still capture them in a way that is lasting. These “special dish” paintings seek to not only document your special dish, but also a bit of the recipe and work involved: my clients provide the dish and any cookware that they’d like included so that I’m not just painting props, but actually memorializing the dish so that it can be looked at fondly any time.
A growing collection of original oil paintings by Daniel Skolz. If this sentiment resonates with you, I would love to hear from you.
Special dish
Ultimately, it is about commemorating the special moments in the kitchen whose impact lasts far longer than the dish itself.
Interested in memorializing your own family recipe? Let’s connect.
About Daniel
My entry into painting followed a love of art and nature but the practicality of pursuing education in science. I completed a doctorate degree (Ph.D.) in plant ecological genetics, investigating how plants interact with their environments by changing aspects of themselves in response to stress. After, I found my way back to art in a substantial way, first in a tattoo apprenticeship and then in learning to paint in oil. My tattoo work is almost solely botanical in subject, or nature-themed at the very least (featuring birds, insects, and other creatures typically accompanied by plants). My paintings continue that theme but largely in documenting the beauty and diversity of plants in domestic life (e.g. heirloom varieties at farmer's markets, the internationality of a local grocer’s produce section, and the seasonality of local landscapes). Click here to check out my “Lemon in a …” collection.