234. Chocolate ice cream and lemon sorbet (Schokoladeneis und Zitronensorbet)

234. Chocolate ice cream and lemon sorbet (Schokoladeneis und Zitronensorbet), 2025, Öl auf Leinwand, 15 × 20cm, (Darryn Ansted)

Sometimes when I paint bowls I think about Velazquez. His early work where he paints the little kitchens of the village are incredible. They are very consciously an attempt to show his range and skill. However, they are not dry or scholastic. On the contrary, they are generous with personality. Just look at ‘An old woman cooking eggs’ from 1618. He was 19 when he painted that. It is hard to believe. It looks like a painting done by somebody who had painted hundreds of paintings, like someone at the very top of their game. There is not a single part of the painting that does not fascinate me. It is more important however to then look away from such a great painting. Otherwise, the painting holds us in its gaze, and he starts to tower god-like in the corner of the studio of the mind, eventually blocking the exit. Most painters know the feeling of falling under the spell of an old master. It is important to not try to be Velazquez 2.0, or anyone else whatsoever, if painting is going to continue as a living tradition. As I understand it, it is a tradition of taking off the superficial layers to identity, and being a glorious nobody.

We got this bowl in Italy. I had an exhibitin in Molise around 2017. It was exciting to show work in Italy. We visited a pottery workshop on the edge of town while we were there. The potter was an older man who had every conceivable kind of pot for sale in his workshop. We spent a long time there looking at his work and watching him throw clay. We chose a few nice bits and pieces to buy. When it came time to leave he said don’t worry about buying them, just have them. It was very generous. This was a bowl that we got as a gift for somebody. However, it was so nice to use when we were back at home that we ended up keeping it. In contrast to the fine china bowls I painted this is a very rustic bowl. However, there is a real vitality in the design. I can imagine eating olives out of this… or ice cream.