For Denver-based artist Zoë Tessier, art has always been a part of life. Born and raised in Park City, UT to a mother who’s also an artist and into a family with a more traditional outlook on modernity (aka, no television), “art was always the thing to entertain me.” Together with her artistic roots and extensive formal education, Tessier and her then-husband set sights on the vibrant, bustling Los Angeles—the birthplace of her food paintings.
But contrary to the idea that L.A. would foster an abundance of creativity, Tessier hadn’t lived in a big, “cement jungle” before. “I was so uninspired. I felt so desperate for anything.” The oil- and acrylic-painter bounced from landscapes to eventually dabbling in food painting, unsure of what would stick. “I would go around to restaurants and paint famous dishes. It was one of those things where I didn’t really care, I just knew I had to paint.”
Tessier’s Ideal Option is a nod to the popular L.A. bakery, Alcove, “where all the stars go” for their pastry fixes and in particular, features a menu item called the Princess Cake, only available if you know to ask for it. “For any artist, you can look at a painting and it takes you right back to where you were. It grounds you.”
