Meet still life artist Joël Penkman

Shining a spotlight on the work of talented creatives across Liverpool, Manchester and the North West

This is the latest in my new Meet a Creator series, published especially for Stored Honey’s paid subscribers, which delves deeply into the work and values of individual artists, actors, musicians, curators, producers, writers and other creatives. This time, we’re meeting Joël Penkman, whose work I first came across on Instagram - semi-photorealistic still lifes of food standing out among all the filtered snaps of people’s dinner.

When she had a print sale before Christmas I couldn’t resist one of the jellies - there’s something seductively nostalgic about jellies even though I’ve actually never really liked eating them. They are almost ridiculously kitsch but are actually quite beautiful in the way the light shines through them like little jewels. One of the things I love about Joël’s paintings is how they appear so realistic that you can almost lift them off the picture and start indulging - but look again and you can’t miss the brushstrokes. Plus they are fun and we all need a bit more of that in our lives.

The regular Meet the Creator feature is published exclusively for paid members to thank them for their support, which is needed to keep Stored Honey running. If you would like to join us and receive it straight to your inbox, you can subscribe for £6 per month (£60 for an annual subscription) using this button…