Category: Original Paintings

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Herbs and Spices Painting -Time-Lapse Video

Indonesian Spices Speedpainting – The Making of a Still Life

Summary

This Indonesian spices speedpainting by Bart Carels captures the process behind one of his most culturally rooted still lifes. Created in a single session using acrylics and a warm underlayer, it celebrates Indo cooking traditions through expressive, intuitive brushwork.

Title: ‘Herbs and Spices’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020

How This Indonesian Spices Speedpainting Was Made

The process starts with a canvas prepped using gesso and Vermillion — a base layer I like for the warmth it adds. From there, I loosely sketched the subject using Primary Cyan to check the layout and proportions. I then worked from the background in, layering colors, adjusting light, and building in just enough shape and shadow to keep it recognizable but still raw.

A Personal Story Told Through Spices

What makes this Indonesian spices speedpainting special is the connection to my roots. My dad was born in the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia), and when he moved to the Netherlands in the 1950s, he brought those cultural elements with him. As a result, I grew up with sambal, bumbu, and stories of another home — and that influence now seeps into my work.

This painting features staples like Coriander (Ketumbar), Candle Nuts (Kemiri), Cumin (Jinten), and Turmeric (Kunyit). Not styled on fancy platters, but in the plastic tubs we actually use — just like the ones you’d find in any Indo family kitchen.

Want to See the Final Painting?

This process piece led to a refined still life: Indonesian Herbs & Spices – Original Painting. If you like more polished results, give that one a look.

Painting Specifications

  • One-of-a-kind work (speed painted live)
  • Medium: Acrylic on canvas
  • Size: 24×30 cm / 9×11 inches
  • Color Palette: Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black | White

Availability

Want more like this? Explore the full food & drink painting collection, or follow me on Instagram (footer links) for new work and behind-the-scenes updates.

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“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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Glass of Whisky (“Firewater”) Original Painting

Original acrylic painting on canvas 'Firewater' – whisky glass painting by Bart Carels.

Summary

Original Glass of Whisky painting titled “Firewater” by contemporary artist Bart Carels.

Title: ‘Firewater’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2019

Progress Shots

The images below show you the overall progress of the painting from start to finish. I started on a blank canvas and painted it with a mixture of gesso and burnt sienna.This is called a toned ground (or coloured ground).

There are several reasons why artists do this. Personally I do it for two reasons. The first is that the gesso creates a nice smooth layer and prevents my paint from getting soaked into the canvas. The next layers basically lay on top of it.  I add the Burnt Sienna to the gesso so I don’t have the white spots showing through my paint in case my other layers did not cover the entire canvas.

Many artists also use this first layer to create tonal values, which serves as the foundation to build on top of. At times I do this too, but in this case the first layers were more to cover my canvas and to make sure my overal composition looked good. Anyway, here are some progress shots of the piece:

Description

Glass of Whisky Original Painting titled ‘Firewater’ by contemporary artist Bart Carels.

This artwork shows a glass of whisky on a very vibrant teal/turquoise background. The original artwork is hand-painted. The fine art prints / posters are reproductions and digital versions of the original painting, printed on Museum-quality thick, durable and matte paper.

Original Painting

  • Just one in the world
  • Medium: Acrylic on canvas
  • Dimensions: 80×60 cm / 31.5×23.6 inches
  • Color Palette: Cyan | Magenta | Yellow | Black |White

Fine Art Print

  • Paper thickness: 10.3 mil
  • Paper weight: 5.6 oz/y² (192 g/m²)
  • Giclée printing quality
  • Opacity: 94%

Check below for availability of this original painting or Fine Art Prints of this Back to the future artwork.

Availability