One way to experience a new culture is through its food. You may recall that, after moving to Germany a little over a year ago, I quickly fell in love with the local bakery culture. The bakeries in Germany tend to be mom-and-pop operations and there are hundreds of different kinds of rolls and pastries that vary from region to region.

Not surprisingly, with my love of still life painting, I began painting the bread rolls and pastries that I found. With this series, I wanted to capture something that is both constant and consistent (the centuries-old tradition of bread making), but ephemeral (the bread is only fresh for that one day).

Food is something most of us spend little time thinking about because eating can be such a mundane, fleeting experience. Yet, in making these paintings, I felt like I was exploring small planets. It has been a humbling, absorbing, and ultimately profound experience, believe it or not. 

Below are a few more to add to the collection. As you may be able to tell, I am working a little larger with these. The paintings are almost to scale, so these larger rolls and croissants needed more room to breathe.

If you would like to see the entire series, check out my website.