Ottolenghi Islington Window Drawing

Food and places where you can enjoy it have been a focus of my art since the early stages of my career and during the years I often collaborated with great people in hospitality business. This helped me realise how much art and food have in common. Many friends started working as chefs and hotel managers in Italy and abroad and I admire them greatly. Being forced home in the Amalfi Coast, Italy, where I moved back few months ago, after almost three years in London, I am going through all the photographs I took in London and making oil pastels inspired by them. The main focus of this artwork is Ottolenghi Islington window, with a beautiful, huge display of their iconic cakes. Ottolenghi has a special place in Londoners life as he changed the way they view vegetables and introduced them to so many new and different flavours. And he also has a special place in my personal life, as my boyfriend worked in one of his restaurants and this changed the way we consume vegetables at home, too. It was so great to see how my boyfriend's Italian cooking tradition mixed with the Ottolenghi approach. He learned a lot about vegetables we never heard about before, and he introduced some Italian flavours in Ottolenghi kitchens in return. These cultural exchanges are another thing that art and cooking have in common. I took this photograph on our last visit at Ottolenghi, where we enjoyed a great meal with some amazing friends, before leaving London few days after. I focused on the cakes and the window display where you can spot some of Yotam's books; I also like to depict what you can see outside the window, on the street, and the reflections in the glass are also a detail that always captures my attention: It is like having many layers that you can spot the more you look at a scene. While I was depicting the cakes I couldn't help but thinking about one of my favourite artists: Wayne Thiebaud, whose work I recently saw again during a trip to California. I've always loved how he painted everything, especially cakes and store windows. Senneleir oil pastels are very oily and thick and their texture reminded me of his painting style. I hope looking at this colourful scene would make you feel like you are there, just passed the door and greeted by one of the amazing hosts, and about to sit down with your friends to enjoy a great meal together, while in the back of your mind, going through all the cakes you just saw in the window, trying to decide which one you are going to order in the end.

Drawing:oil pastel on Paper

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:11.7 W x 16.5 H x 0 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.