Personal Project

Ripe

Ripe began as a two-year study of California farmers markets, in Sonoma, Napa, San Francisco, and the East Bay, and now and then as far south as Monterey, returning week after week to watch the harvest turn over as each new food arrived in its season. Grounded in research on still life from antiquity to the digital era, I shopped the stalls the way a painter gathers color, choosing fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins at their peak, then building each still from whatever the market offered that morning. I styled every scene to reveal what makes a single ingredient singular: the blush on a berry, the architecture of a split fig, the quiet gloss of fresh-pressed oil, all caught in sun-swept light that falls the way early day does across a market table. The work is a celebration of natural beauty and of food at its ripest, an invitation to look again and find reverence in something as ordinary and essential as what nourishes us.

Heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes on the vine in a glass pedestal bowl against a dark blue background

Dark red plums and stone fruit with green leaves floating on white, fine art produce photography

Red chili pepper shapes made from chili powder on a textured white surface

Fresh figs on a rustic wood board with one fig cut open to show the pink interior

Purple and green asparagus standing in a glass jar against a magenta background

Purple and green asparagus spears standing in a row on white

Sliced watermelon radishes and pea shoots arranged on white, overhead produce still life

Rainbow chard leaves and red stalks standing in a row on white

Sweet peppers and chili peppers in a glass trifle bowl against a dark purple background

Pile of ripe strawberries in a red footed bowl with dramatic dark red light

Heirloom tomatoes, cranberry beans and baby eggplant on green and pink backgrounds, farmers market still life

Fresh cherries in a turquoise footed bowl against a dark teal background

Radish sprouts and pea greens with pink stems scattered on white

Peaches, plums and cherries piled in a dark pedestal bowl against a teal blue background

Fresh corn on the cob with husks and silk in a glass vase against a teal background

Rainbow of vegetables arranged by color overhead, from tomatoes and carrots to peppers, cabbage and greens

Red, yellow and green chili peppers and cherry tomatoes on a blue painted wood board

Wooden crate of farmers market vegetables with artichokes, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, radishes, purple broccoli, asparagus and beets

Farmers market produce with leafy greens, tomatoes, radishes, sweet potatoes and carrots on dark wood, overhead

Red apples in a pedestal bowl on a red background with cinnamon sticks and a baked apple dessert

Whole and cracked coconuts with shredded coconut on a cream background

Assorted wild and cultivated mushrooms arranged on a white plate

Heirloom apples stacked in a pyramid on a purple cloth against a dark background

Green onions with roots and pale purple bulbs on white

Green asparagus tips balanced on a silver fork against a black background

Basket of leafy greens with green pears, radishes and red onion on white linen against a dark green background

Bunch of red and white heirloom radishes with green tops standing on white

Red onions, shallots and garlic with roots and papery skins scattered on white

Colorful garden vegetables with purple cauliflower, rainbow chard, carrots, lettuce and kale, overhead

Judy's Love of Food

My love of food started young. I began working in restaurants at fifteen and spent eight years as an executive pastry chef for Hyatt Hotels. Since then I have styled many projects, and I love to paint on themes of sustainability.

See also: Food of California, my project on iconic foods born in the Golden State.