top of page
Search

The Breakfast Surprise

Writer: Lisa TimmermanLisa Timmerman
Feb 19, 20212 min read

**Words by Amber L-J**

Breakfast is important. In those first moments of your first meal, it sets the tone of the rest of your day. As a child, breakfast was crafted with fascination, from animal-shaped pancakes to intergalactic cereal; It almost felt like a small window to eat, before the contents of my plate would make their escape.

My favourite meal was a boiled egg, with regimented soldiers placed alongside and ready for combat. It is a ritualistic meal – tapping my spoon against the egg, removing the top and dipping the soldier into the salivating, saffron yolk. It is seemingly a quick meal, and I was always eager to start my day and escape from the ordinary into my wild imagination. But this was a moment that I would savour, leading to an unusually quiet morning in a house of frequent, chaotic energy.

To eat soldiers felt fit for a soldier, an occupation that I manifested for myself that day. But that could wait. I placed my cowboy gun nearby, ready to go should an epic battle present itself in the middle of my breakfast.

**Article continues on Page Two**

The type of painting, Still Life, is described by Lisa Timmerman as a ‘winter occupation’. ‘Breakfast Surprise’ is an acrylic painting which was exhibited at the Parallax Art Fair at the Chelsea Town Hall, London in February 2013. As this was Lisa’s first art fair, she talks about the significant audience engagement: “I took ‘Breakfast Surprise’ to Chelsea Town Hall when I did my first art fair years ago and it was certainly a conversation starter! Many people asked me what it meant and had their own theories too. My friend overheard a conversation about it right on the other side of the hall!”

This piece was later sold in 2017, in Lisa’s own Coach House Gallery in Leicestershire.

It is not surprising that this is an artwork which raises eyebrows and incites debate, due to the unusual combination of the domestic and the dangerous. This is an unexpected still life image, as this is so often a meal for children or adolescents; The soft baby-blue background and oozing egg yolk contrasts greatly with the dark, cold, steely gun. However, the toy soldier has been stuck forcefully into the egg, causing a mess of yolk and egg shell on the plate. In this small act of destruction does it correlate to the cowboy gun garnish. It is a simple composition, but with a distinctive twist which resonates with viewers, as the perfect conversation starter.

This painting is light-hearted yet cutting edge. It’s a fixed moment in time, in a world where time often moves so quickly. With this artwork, Lisa offers the sentiment of wanting the world to “just hold still so you can remember that moment forever”.

Breakfast Surprise: Interior Design Ideas

Please visit Lisa’s website for other commissions, and for more contact details if you would like your own unique artwork.

 
 

Comentarios

bottom of page