PAINTING (2): FOOD PAINTING
NAME:_____________________________
LESSON FOCUS:
This lesson focuses on creating a painting of food, inspired by the work of Wayne
Thiebaud, using acrylic paints.
VOCABULARY:
Acrylic paint: A comparatively new paint in which pigment is suspended in a
synthetic resin. It is quick-drying, permanent and colorfast.
Color: Element of art derived from reflected light. The sensation of color is aroused
in the brain by response of different wavelengths of light.
Opaque: Impenetrable by light; not transparent or translucent.
Organic shape: An irregular, non-geometric shape.
Painterly: Painting characterized by openness of form, in which shapes are defined
by loose brushwork in light and dark color areas rather than by outline or contour.
Pop art: An art style that portrayed images of the popular culture such as comic
strips and commercial products.
Wayne Thiebaud:
Wayne Thiebaud was born Mesa, Arizona in 1920, and his family soon moved to Los
Angeles in 1921. In high school he became interested in stage design and lighting, and
worked part-time at a movie theater where he made posters for lobby displays, 19351938. During this time he also worked as a summer apprentice program in the animation
department of Walt Disney Studios, 1936. From 1942 to 1945, Thiebaud served in the
Air Force, assigned to the Special Services Department as an artist and cartoonist, and
eventually transferred to the First Air Force Motion Picture Unit, commanded by Ronald
Reagan. It is not difficult to detect the influence that this commercial experience had on
his later paintings attributed to Pop Art; Thiebaud's characteristic work displays
consumer objects such as pies and cakes as they are seen in drug store windows.
Thiebaud uses heavy pigment and exaggerated colors to depict his subjects, and the welldefined shadows characteristic of advertisements are almost always included. Objects are
simplified into basic units but appear varied using seemingly minimal means. From 1949
to 1950, Thiebaud studied at the San Jose State University and from 1950 to 1953 at the
California State University in Sacramento. He had his first solo exhibition at the Crocker
Art Gallery in Sacramento, and between the years of 1954 and 1957, he produced eleven
educational films for which he was awarded the Scholastic Art Prize in 1961. Thiebaud
lectured at the Art Department of the Sacramento City College until 1959, when he
became a professor at the University of California in Davis. Today, Wayne Thiebaud
lives and works in California.
PROCEDURE:
 Look at several examples of Wayne Thiebaud’s cake/food paintings.
 Choose a photograph of a food you like and edit to make the composition your
own.
 Using the photograph as reference, draw your food onto 16”x 16” manila sketch
paper.
 Trace your image onto 16”x 16” oak tag.
 Try to match the colors and textures of the food in your photograph and begin
painting using acrylic paints.
 Layer and/or add cornstarch to thicken your paints to make them opaque.
 When blending color, add gel medium to extend the drying time. This will make
blending colors much easier.
 If you have empty space in and around your food, choose a color or colors to fill
the space. Your painting will be considered complete when there is no oak tag
showing.
MATERIALS:
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Photograph of food (your choice)
8”x 10” manila sketch paper
8”x 10” oak tag
Pencil and eraser for sketches
Acrylic paints (assorted colors)
Brushes (assorted shapes and sizes)
Water container
Paper towels
Cornstarch (for thickening paints)
Gel medium (to extend drying time)
Wayne Thiebaud: