“Bell Peppers” Speedpainting Time-Lapse Video

Bell Peppers Speed Painting – Time-Lapse Still Life in Acrylic

Summary

This bell peppers speed painting was a spontaneous still life experiment by Bart Carels. Captured in a short time-lapse video, it shows the fast, layered approach I use when working without an underdrawing — focusing on movement, color balance, and immediacy instead of fine detail. The painting features three peppers placed on a wooden surface and partially wrapped in transparent plastic, making it a fun play on texture, light, and shape.

Title: ‘Bell Peppers’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020

Behind the Bell Peppers Speed Painting

Instead of taking progress photos, I went straight into a video time-lapse for this one. No sketching, no underpainting — I just started blocking in shapes using color. The goal was to create a finished piece in one go, with no backtracking. First, I added the background and wood grain beneath the peppers. Then came the peppers themselves, and finally the crinkled plastic wrapping that sits lightly over them. Everything needed to be bold but simple, painted efficiently before the paint dried and the daylight faded.

Working fast creates a specific kind of pressure. You think twice before every stroke. You start to trust your eye more than your brush. And while that may sound limiting, it actually opens things up creatively. You’re forced to focus on essentials: shape, light, contrast. There’s no time to fuss over the perfect edge.

Still Life as a Study

Food items, like these bell peppers, often appear in my art because they’re accessible and familiar. But they’re also full of opportunities to explore reflections, color transitions, and layered transparency — especially under artificial light. If you’re interested in a more culturally-rooted approach, check out my Indonesian spices speedpainting as well.

This piece may be small and fast, but it taught me a lot about patience, restraint, and composition. Sometimes, the shortest paintings stick with you the longest.

Painting Specifications

• One-of-a-kind original artwork
• Medium: Acrylic on canvas
• Size: 24×18 cm / 9×7 inches
• Color Palette: Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black | White

Availability

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