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

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

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