17th-century female painter
Clara Peeters made a name
for herself with her beautiful
depictions of delicious food
in her paintings.
But, given the particular
circumstances of the times,
it was very difficult for a woman
to work as a professional painter.
As such, it is completely unknown
as to how she started painting,
or why she chose so often
to paint food.
Some people, who have had
the pleasure of seeing
her paintings, believe
that she may have simply painted
her favorite foods.
User @pigama, who was selected
for the Hall of Fame in November
stimulates our eyes and tastebuds
with paintings absolutely filled
with her love for food.
@pigama’s work features
a variety of scenes involving food
from her everyday life.
She captivates our eyes
with everything from someone
enjoying her food at a restaurant,
or drinking coffee at a nice cafe,
all painted using beautiful colors.
If you spend enough time admiring
her work, your mouth won’t be
the only thing that’s watering.
You’ll notice yourself imagining
how a certain food might
taste or smell.
So, we thought we just had
to ask @pigama why she started
painting food.
Let’s head into our
interview with @pigama.
Q1. @PENUP
Hello, @pigama.
Thank you for agreeing
to this PENUP interview.
First of all, congratulations
on being inducted into the Hall of
Fame for the month of November.
Can you tell us a little about
yourself and how you feel about
being selected as a Hall of Famer?
A1. @pigama
First, thank you for choosing me
as the hall of Fame in November.
I never expected this to happen.
I feel so flattered and excited
for this reward.
And I want to thanks for
all warm likes and comments
on my fanbook and post.
I'm @pigama from Taiwan
and I work as programmer
in a Japanese company.
Drawing and seeing other talent
artists’ creating works in PENUP is
one of my favorite hobbies.
Q2. @PENUP
You uploaded your very first
painting in December 2019.
So, you’ve spent just a little
under a year on PENUP.
Can you tell us how you
found out about PENUP,
and why you decided to share
your work with other people?
A2. @pigama
I like drawing especially digital
art, but I have fewer and fewer time
to sit tight in front of computer
in the busy life.
I decided to change
my cellphone in order
to use S-pen to freely draw.
From last year,
I decide to practice more and want
to find a space to storage
and record my drawings.
And then I found out PENUP app
which is a great space
to share drawings.
Beyond that, there are many
interesting functions
and activities.
Such as challenge of each month
with a new theme, live drawing,
the hall of fame.
It really catches my eye
and want to share my work
with other people via PENUP
to hear more advice from strangers.
Q3. @PENUP
The delicious foods
and the beautiful girls
you paint often create a mellow
and beautiful harmony.
What devices and apps
do you use when you paint?
A3. @pigama
I use note9 and S note
to paint all my drawings.
S pen is very easy to control.
There are 2 kind of brush in S note
I like to use.
One is “pencil brush”.
I use for sketching the outline.
The other one is “marker brush”
which could adjust transparency.
I use it for coloring.
Q4. @PENUP
The first-ever piece
was a cute little dog.
But then, you gradually moved
onto food, and girls enjoying food.
What inspired you to draw
these subjects?
Can you tell us what about the foods
you paint appeal to you
and inspire you to paint?
A4. @pigama
At first, my friends asked me
to draw their pets, so I started
to paint some cute dogs and cats.
One day I saw some food
illustrations posted on IG.
These food drawings look
so yummy and pretty.
I want to try if I could
draw like them.
I started to focus on practice food
drawing for a while.
Normally, I took photo before
I ate, then try to paint
by the day or next day.
Sometimes I will search well plated
meal Images to practice.
The other day, an over 10 years ago
photo popped out from my FB.
It reminded me when I stated
digital art, I did a lot of practice
about girls.
I try to combine food and girl
as one subject.
It is also the reason I started
“girls enjoying food”.
Q5. @PENUP
You paint girls only.
Is there a special reason why
you prefer painting girls
and girls eating food?
A5. @pigama
The main reason I prefer painting
girls is because I used photoshop
and painting to practice character
sketch many years ago.
Most of these drawings were girls.
I stopped drawing for quite
a long time.
I want to know if I still can
do it by S pen.
And I think girls’ appearance
and modeling has all
the possibility and potential.
Q6. @PENUP
The hats and clothes shaped
like food have also been
a huge hit among our PENPLE users.
In fact, it’s quite fun to find
which hat or piece of
clothing is shaped to look
like a particular food.
Where did you get the idea from?
A6. @pigama
It is difficult to say
where the idea come from.
I love food and any kind of product
with food pattern.
And I also like to add some cute
accessories on the girls.
Food itself is beautiful
and can be the realistic items
and any parts.
Finally, it become a pleasure not
just drawing food but to put
food element on girls.
I think I want to make girls
more cute.
Q7. @PENUP
Your paintings feature food from
a variety of different countries.
Do you travel a lot?
Also, do you have any countries
you would like to visit
or foods you would like
to eat for your paintings?
A7. @pigama
I traveled several countries before.
Last year I went to Russia.
I painted some Russia food
I ate that time.
I also join a food illustration
activity in May.
The activity set up a special menu
we need to follow.
During that time,
I painted some food
I’ve never ate before.
There are many countries I want
to visit such as Sri Lanka,
South Africa, North Europe.
And I would like to eat
Molecular gastronomy
for my paintings.
Q8. @PENUP
The cute pink pig character
that appears once in a while in
your work is also quite interesting.
Does the pink pig represent
anything? Are there any other
easter eggs in your paintings
with hidden messages?
Please share them
with us if there are any.
A8. @pigama
Thank you for noticing the pink pig.
I use it as my signature.
The pig is not necessarily
in a specific location
and almost exists in every drawing.
If you have interesting,
you could try to search it. *^^*
I think there is no other hidden
messages in my drawing.
But I do like add some little things
in my drawings.
Hope you could take some
time to see them.
Q9. @PENUP
Your paintings often have dates
stamped underneath.
It almost seems like you’re
recording what you ate that day.
When do you actually paint?
And do you have any other areas
you’re interested in,
other than food?
Can you tell us a little about your
future plans in terms of painting?
A9. @pigama
The date stamp means the date of
I finished the painting not exactly
the date I ate those food.
Normally I will finish the painting
on that day or next date.
Sometimes I will set a small subject
for myself like “drinking series”.
It is quite interesting to find
even drink the same beverages,
when I changed the situation
and expression, the whole atmosphere
is different.
I hope you could feel the same way.
Now I started to draw animal again.
I am not sure what is next.
I think I might keep food subject
for a while. Maybe try some boys,
more people or detail background
next time.
There are still many things
I need to learn.
And there are many foods
I haven’t painted.
And enjoy food is a whole process
(smelling, picking, biting,
chowing…etc.).
If I practice more harder
and get more technique,
I hope I could make a small
animation in the future. ^0^
Q10. @PENUP
This is our last question.
Based on your experience using PENUP,
what could be better?
Or do you have any comments
you would like to make to PENUP?
A10. @pigama
When I visit other artist,
sometimes I feel confused
about which is actually his
or her work.
I think it is really good idea
to find out more inspiring work
via seeing what they like.
But how to check this artist’s
work more easily.
I think this is only comments
I want to make to PENUP.
Finally, thank you again to make
such wonderful environment for us!
Did you enjoy our interview
with @pigama?
American chef and writer
James Beard once said,
“Food is our common ground,
a universal experience.”
With her paintings of various foods,
@pigama also seems to be helping us
build common ground.
Why don’t you paint your
favorite food, or something you
would love to eat someday?
Also, it might be a great idea
to discuss different foods
with people from around the world
with your paintings of food.
PENUP sincerely wishes you good luck
in painting foods that look
delicious and wonderfully aromatic.
Thank you.
Fun, Express, Share!
PENUP - Share your drawings!
https://www.penup.com
-The PENUP Team
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