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Cucumber Water Painting – The Making of Funky Cucumber

glass of cucumber water painting - vegetable still life

Cucumber Water Speed Painting – The Making of Funky Cucumber

Cucumber Water Speed Painting by contemporary artist Bart Carels. This quirky little still life features a cut cucumber and a glass of infused water — all painted in bold tones with lots of layering, texture, and contrast.

Title: ‘Funky Cucumber’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020

Painting Process

For this cucumber water speed painting, I wanted to switch things up. Normally, I begin with a Vermillion base layer, but this time I chose Magenta instead. I wasn’t sure what would happen, which made it more fun. I drew in the outlines, then jumped straight into color with a green mix I had prepared for the cucumber slice.

Rather than fully covering the base layer, I left some of the Magenta showing through on purpose — especially in the shadows. That gave the piece a more textured, layered feel. For the background, I used a semi-transparent purple-blue mix, again allowing the base to shine through in spots.

In the original reference image, the glass and cucumber were sitting on a wooden cutting board. I decided to replace it with an off-white surface instead. The contrast worked better against the background and felt more modern. Also, the desaturated tone gave the glass and water room to breathe visually.

It was a fast piece, but one that pushed me slightly out of my usual approach. The color choices were more experimental, and I had no real plan beyond working quickly and trusting the shapes. In the end, the funky palette, bold strokes, and unusual contrast made it one of my favorites from this series.

Painting Specs

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

Availability

Subscribe below or follow me on social (links in the footer) if you like weird little still lifes like this. I post new painting videos often.

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Tabasco Gone Sideways (Tabasco Sauce Bottle) Painting -Time-Lapse Video

tabasco bottle still life painting

Tabasco Speed Painting – The Making of ‘Tabasco Gone Sideways’

Tabasco Speed Painting by contemporary artist Bart Carels. A bold little still life that flips the script — literally — by tilting a classic bottle of Tabasco hot sauce on its side. The result? A quirky, color-rich painting with strong contrast and a laid-back vibe.

Title: ‘Tabasco Gone Sideways’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020

Process & Approach

I’ve seen a lot of Tabasco paintings over the years, so I knew going into this that the subject wasn’t groundbreaking. To make it more fun (and more challenging), I placed the bottle on its side. This messed with the symmetry and forced me to really pay attention to proportions and angles. It made things trickier — but also more interesting.

The technique followed the same flow as some of my other recent still lifes. I started by sketching the outlines using a tone already close to the color of the sauce — a mix of Magenta, Yellow, and a touch of Cyan. I filled in the shadows first using that same blend, letting the darker areas define the form early on.

Next, I blocked in the green label, the background, and some depth for the sauce itself. I added just a few hints of text and highlights — no full label details. Because this was a speed painting, I kept the level of detail consistent throughout. Leaving out the small text gave it a cleaner, more graphic look.

Sometimes the best part of speed painting is not trying to get every little thing right. This piece felt loose, warm, and balanced once I stepped back from it. Plus, it was fun to take a common object and give it a literal twist.

Painting Specs

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

Availability

Follow me on social or subscribe below if you enjoy seeing process videos like this. New paintings (and weird subjects) coming soon.

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Yesterday’s Dessert (Two McDonald’s Milkshakes) Painting -Time-Lapse Video

Milkshake speed painting by Bart Carels showing two McDonald's cups in teal background

Milkshake Speed Painting – The Making of ‘Yesterday’s Dessert’

Milkshake Speed Painting by contemporary artist Bart Carels. This quirky still life captures two McDonald’s strawberry milkshakes, leftover from a random late-night snack run during Covid. Painted fast with leftover acrylics and no prep, it’s a loose, playful tribute to pop culture and poor dinner decisions.

Title: ‘Yesterday’s Dessert’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020

‘Yesterday’s Dessert’ – Acrylic on canvas by Bart Carels (2020)

How I Created This Milkshake Speed Painting

This one came straight from real life — and real fast food. One night we went for a drive, didn’t feel like cooking, and ended up in the McDrive. Covid was still going strong, so everything was handed out on trays attached to long sticks. Kind of surreal, to be honest. After regretting my burger choice (the “Double Tasty” isn’t making the list again), I looked down at the milkshakes and thought, “Yeah, that’s a painting.”

Instead of prepping a new canvas, I used what I had from the day before. I grabbed the leftover paint and sketched the composition using Vermillion. That base color still shows through in spots, which actually works well with the yellow M logos on the cups.

To make the cups pop, I added a teal background. The contrast pulled everything forward and made the scene more playful. For the shadows, I used a mix of white, magenta, cyan, and primary yellow — adjusting as I went to keep things loose. The cardboard tray holding the cups got a few darker tones mixed in with magenta and blue for more depth.

This milkshake speed painting stayed rough on purpose. I didn’t want to overwork it. It was about capturing the moment — fast, imperfect, and kind of funny in hindsight. Definitely one of those “accidental favorite” pieces.

Painting Specs

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

Availability

Want more snack-inspired still lifes and quick acrylic sketches? Subscribe below or follow me on social (footer links). New speed painting videos drop regularly.

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Sambal Oelek (Hot pepper paste) Painting -Time-Lapse Video

Sambal Oelek speed painting by Bart Carels

Sambal Oelek Speed Painting – The Making of a Spicy Still Life

Sambal Oelek Speed Painting by contemporary artist Bart Carels. A quick acrylic still life capturing the bold colors and glassy texture of a spicy Indonesian chili paste jar — painted in one session, with loose strokes and saturated tones.

Title: ‘Sambal Oelek’
Artist: Bart Carels
Year: 2020

Watch the Painting Progress

Behind the Painting

This one-day sambal oelek speed painting was a spicy little experiment. It’s one of the most recognizable sambal jars here in The Netherlands, and it felt like a fun challenge to capture the contrast of that glass texture, bold label, and bright red sauce.

I prepped the canvas by mixing gesso with Vermillion, which gave me a warm base layer. From there, I created a quick underdrawing in line only — no shading yet. I like starting this way when time is tight. Once the lines were in place and the proportions felt balanced, I dove into the darker tones of the sambal to build the structure of the jar.

Because I hadn’t yet committed to a background color, seeing the jar’s value range helped me decide. I didn’t stick to the background from the reference photo — instead, I chose something that worked better with the reds and helped the whole piece pop a bit more.

After the background went in, I added highlights and shadows to everything at once. I try to keep the level of detail consistent across the painting — unless I’m intentionally focusing on one area. In this case, the glass jar naturally became the star.

Painting Specs

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

Availability

Want more quick, bold still lifes like this one? Subscribe below or follow me on social (links in the footer) for new speed paintings, experiments, and spicy surprises.

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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

Original canvas painting of bell peppers still wrapped in plastic by Bart Carels, capturing a unique food still life.

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.

Glass of Whisky Painting – ‘Firewater’

Looking for a bold glass of whisky painting with a punch of color and character? Firewater is a modern still life that captures that golden glow just before the first sip. Vibrant, moody, and painted with acrylic on canvas, this piece stands out in any setting.

Behind This Glass of Whisky Painting

Like most of my work, this whisky painting started with a blank canvas and a plan — sort of. I toned the surface using a mix of gesso and burnt sienna, a technique I use to reduce glare and build a warmer base for later layers. The burnt sienna also helps cover the white of the canvas, so even if the top layers are loose or transparent, nothing harsh shines through.

This time, I wasn’t focused on value mapping. I was more interested in locking down the composition and mood early on. I wanted the drink to glow — like it was lit from within — without overcomplicating the background or the glasswork.

Progress Shots

Here’s a peek behind the scenes. These images show the full process from first strokes to final details. You can see how the composition evolves and where I push and pull color to balance realism with atmosphere.

Why This Whisky Painting Works

This piece isn’t just about whisky. It captures that still, glowing moment of calm — the second before everything kicks in. The contrast of rich teal and amber pulls your focus exactly where it belongs.

Whether you’re building a collection or looking for a conversation piece, this glass of whisky painting brings bold energy and timeless stillness into any space. It’s one of those pieces that can live in a lounge, studio, or kitchen and still feel right at home.

Availability

Check below for availability of the original painting and fine art prints: