Click here for Kitchen Food Prints.
There was a time when kitchen artwork seemed to consist almost entirely of pictures of coffee cups, the word ‘EAT’ in enormous letters and inspirational messages about gathering around the table. There was nothing 'wrong' with any of it, but it did make me wonder why one of the most interesting rooms in the house had somehow become one of the most predictable when it came to decorating.
The kitchen is where everything happens. It's where people argue over whose turn it is to empty the dishwasher, where someone asks what's for dinner while you're still eating lunch, and where some of the best conversations take place. It's a room that is full of personality, so, why shouldn't the artwork reflect that?
That's part of the reason I started creating colourful kitchen prints at Kauter Studios. I wanted artwork that felt playful, interesting and a little unexpected. Some of my paintings are simply celebrations of everyday food, others come with questionable jokes, and some offer the sort of thoroughly unhelpful life advice that I find far more entertaining than being told to live, laugh and love.
They're different collections, but they all come from the same place. I think art should make you feel something, even if that something is just amusement at a particularly ridiculous painting of a vegetable.
Colourful Kitchen Prints Inspired by Everyday Food
Before I started giving vegetables questionable personalities and making inappropriate jokes about fruit, I was interested in something much simpler: how beautiful ordinary food can be.
It's easy to overlook the colours and shapes of things we see every day. We buy tomatoes, lemons, pineapples and peppers without thinking too much about their appearance, but when you start looking at them as subjects for paintings rather than ingredients for dinner, they're surprisingly interesting.
A tomato isn't just red. It has areas of orange, deep crimson, highlights that catch the light and little variations in shape that make each one different. A lemon has a textured surface and a yellow that can almost seem to glow. Even something as ordinary as sweetcorn has an intricate arrangement of shapes and colours that becomes rather lovely when you pay attention to it.
My original food paintings grew out of that fascination. I wanted to take familiar ingredients and make them the centre of attention, rather than treating them as background objects.
Turning ordinary ingredients into artwork
One of the things I enjoy about painting food is that it gives me the opportunity to exaggerate the things that make each subject interesting. I can bring out the warmth in a pineapple, emphasise the rich colours of a tomato or make the yellow of a lemon stand out against its surroundings.
My food artwork includes pieces such as A Taste of Summer, featuring tomatoes, and The Crown Jewel, a pineapple painting that celebrates one of the most visually distinctive fruits you can find. I've also painted lemons, chillies, sweetcorn, bananas, avocados, eggs and pickles.
There's something quite satisfying about taking an ingredient that might otherwise spend a few days in the fridge before being forgotten and turning it into a piece of original art.
I work primarily with acrylic paint, building up colour and detail while keeping the overall result bold and accessible. I'm not particularly interested in making everything look like a photograph. I want the paintings to have character, visible artistic choices and enough personality to hold their own on a wall.
That balance between recognisable subjects and playful interpretation is important to me. The viewer should immediately know what they're looking at, but I also want them to notice something about it that they might not have considered before.
Why colourful food art works so well in kitchens
Food-inspired wall art has an obvious connection to kitchens, but I think its appeal goes beyond simply matching the room's purpose.
Colour can change how a space feels without requiring an enormous decorating project. A kitchen with neutral cabinets and pale walls can look completely different with the addition of a few strong colours. Equally, a kitchen that's already full of colour can benefit from artwork that embraces that personality rather than trying to tone everything down.
Bright yellow lemons, deep red tomatoes and the greens of avocados all introduce colours that are familiar and comfortable. They aren't abstract combinations that require much explanation. They're colours we already associate with freshness, warmth and everyday life.
I also think food paintings have a certain timelessness. Kitchens change, cabinet styles come and go, and whatever colour is fashionable this year will probably be declared outdated in another five. But a beautifully painted lemon is still going to be a lemon.
There's also something appealing about artwork that doesn't take itself too seriously. Not every painting needs to explore the human condition or make a profound social statement. Sometimes I just want to paint a pineapple because it's an interesting shape and I like the colours.
My original food paintings are created on canvas board, with smaller pieces measuring approximately 13 × 18 cm. I also offer food art prints in A5 and A4, making it possible to enjoy the same colourful subjects without purchasing an original painting.
You can explore the food artwork and prints at Kauter Studios.
For Funny or Rude Kitchen Prints - Click here
Of course, I didn't stop at painting food.
At some point, I started looking at the paintings and thinking about how many ridiculous things you can say about perfectly innocent ingredients. And once you start thinking along those lines, it's quite difficult to stop.
Food lends itself remarkably well to terrible jokes, double meanings and the sort of humour that makes one person laugh while another looks at you with complete disappointment.
Bananas, for example, are practically asking for trouble. Pickles aren't much better. And the English language has provided an unreasonable number of opportunities to make jokes about cheese.
That's how my funny and rude kitchen prints developed. I wanted to create artwork that combined the colour and visual appeal of food paintings with captions that were amusing, cheeky or occasionally rather inappropriate.
Not every print is particularly outrageous. Some are just silly. Others are definitely better suited to kitchens where the residents are unlikely to be offended by a swear word.
Funny kitchen wall art that doesn't take itself seriously
One of my favourite things about this collection is that the humour works on different levels. Sometimes the joke is obvious, while other pieces take a moment to register.
In a Bit of a Pickle is one of the more innocent examples. It's a familiar expression paired with a familiar food, and the simplicity is part of the appeal. There's no complicated joke to explain, just a playful little connection between the image and the words.
Then there's Clove Actually, which gives garlic a romantic identity it probably doesn't deserve. I've also created garlic designs with captions such as Garlic Is My Love Language, Sorry About My Breath and Kiss Me at Your Own Risk.
Cheese has been another particularly productive source of questionable humour. Brie Mine, You're Grate, You Look Gouda and Don't Brie a Dick are all examples of how quickly an innocent ingredient can become the subject of a ridiculous pun.
I rather like the idea of somebody spending time carefully choosing beautiful kitchen cabinets, worktops and accessories, only to finish the whole room with a framed picture telling visitors not to be a dick.
It feels like a reasonable approach to interior design.
Rude kitchen prints for people with a questionable sense of humour
Then there are the designs that are a little less polite.
Saucy Little Btch* features tomatoes, while Eggsplicit Content gives the humble egg a rather more adult identity. Shit Just Got Spicy brings chilli peppers into the equation, and A Little Tart makes use of the lemon's natural ability to look innocent while delivering something considerably sharper.
Other designs include Spiky Little Bitch, Fruity as Fuck and Get Your Mouth Around That.
They're not necessarily the sort of prints you'd expect to find in a traditional country kitchen catalogue, but that's rather the point.
I don't think people should have to choose between artwork that looks attractive and artwork that reflects their personality. If somebody has a dry sense of humour, swears occasionally and enjoys making inappropriate jokes, why should their walls pretend otherwise?
There's an enormous difference between having a beautifully decorated home and having a home that actually feels like yours. Sometimes those things overlap perfectly, but sometimes the finishing touch is something that would make your grandmother raise an eyebrow.
Although, depending on your grandmother, she might be the first person to laugh.
The artwork still matters
Something I feel quite strongly about is that the joke shouldn't be the only reason to buy a print.
There are plenty of funny signs and novelty decorations available, but I wanted my kitchen prints to start with artwork rather than simply putting words on a background.
The food itself is important. The colours, shapes and composition need to work visually, even before you read the caption. Otherwise, the whole thing becomes a joke that happens to be hanging on a wall.
That's also why I like the idea of mixing funny food prints with regular food artwork. You might have a colourful painting of tomatoes alongside a slightly inappropriate garlic print, or a cheerful lemon next to something considerably less cheerful.
They don't all need to deliver the same message. They just need to look as though they belong together.
And because the prints are available in smaller sizes, it's possible to combine several pieces without needing an enormous amount of wall space.
Choosing Colourful Kitchen Wall Art Without Making Everything Match
I find the idea that every item in a room needs to coordinate perfectly a little exhausting. I understand wanting a home to feel considered, but there's a difference between creating a space that works and creating one where everything has been selected according to an identical colour chart.
Kitchen artwork can be a brilliant opportunity to introduce something unexpected.
If your kitchen is mostly white, grey or cream, colourful prints can provide a contrast that makes the room feel more interesting. A bright red tomato painting or a vivid yellow lemon can introduce warmth without changing any of the permanent fixtures.
If you have dark cabinets, bold food artwork can look particularly striking. Deep greens, navy blues and charcoal tones provide a lovely backdrop for saturated colours, especially when the artwork has enough contrast to stand out.
And if your kitchen is already colourful, there's no rule saying you have to stop. I love seeing homes where people have made confident choices rather than trying to create something that will appeal to absolutely everybody.
Small kitchens can still have interesting artwork
One of the reasons I offer my food prints in A5 and A4 is that not everybody has an enormous kitchen with acres of empty wall space.
Some kitchens have barely enough room for a kettle, let alone a gallery wall. But that doesn't mean artwork is out of the question.
A small print can work above a coffee station, beside a breakfast table or on a narrow section of wall that would otherwise be ignored. A couple of prints can also make an awkward corner feel more intentional.
I particularly like the idea of combining different subjects rather than repeating the same image. A lemon, a tomato and a chilli have enough visual connection to work as a collection, but each has its own colours and shapes.
You could also combine an original food painting with a print. I think there's something lovely about having an original piece of artwork in an everyday space, especially one that gets used as much as the kitchen.
Original paintings aren't just for formal living rooms or places where nobody is allowed to touch anything. They can belong in the busiest parts of the house too, provided they're displayed away from direct heat, steam and cooking splashes.
Should you choose framed or unframed kitchen prints?
Framing can make a surprising difference to the appearance of artwork. A simple frame can give a playful image a more finished look, while a bold frame can become part of the overall design.
For colourful kitchen prints, I often think simplicity works best. The artwork already has enough going on without competing with an elaborate frame.
Black frames can create a crisp contrast, particularly against lighter walls. Natural wood can soften bright colours and work well in kitchens with wooden shelves, worktops or other natural materials. White frames can create a lighter appearance, although they may blend into pale walls depending on the surrounding space.
There's no single correct answer, and I don't think people should feel obliged to use identical frames for everything.
A slightly mismatched collection can look much more personal than a perfectly coordinated set. The important thing is that you enjoy looking at it.
Unmotivational Quote Prints - Click here
My kitchen artwork doesn't end with food, although this is where things take a slightly more pessimistic turn.
Alongside my colourful food prints and rude kitchen artwork, I also create a collection of unmotivational quote prints. These are essentially the opposite of the inspirational wall art that tells you to believe in yourself, follow your dreams and greet every morning as though it's an extraordinary gift.
I have nothing against positivity. I just don't think it needs to be compulsory.
Sometimes life is lovely. Sometimes everything goes according to plan, the sun is shining and you're feeling remarkably pleased with yourself. Other times you've spent twenty minutes looking for your keys, the washing machine has started making a suspicious noise and someone has eaten the food you were saving.
On those days, being told to choose happiness can feel a little ambitious. My unmotivational quotes are for the second sort of day.
Anti-motivational wall art with a sense of humour
The idea behind these prints is simple. Instead of offering grand promises about success, happiness and personal growth, they acknowledge that life can be absurd, frustrating and occasionally a complete shambles.
Live, Laugh, Lower Your Expectations is probably one of the clearest examples. It takes a familiar inspirational phrase and gives it a considerably more realistic ending.
It Is What It Is is another favourite because it's such a wonderfully unhelpful expression. It manages to acknowledge a problem while offering absolutely no intention of solving it.
Then there's You Can't Have It All, which is hardly the sort of thing you'd expect to find in a motivational seminar.
I also have prints such as You Can't Fail If You Never Try, Existing Is Expensive, Surviving Out of Spite and One Day This Will Be Someone Else's Problem.
They're deliberately uninspiring, but I think there's something strangely comforting about them.
Not every day needs to be productive. Not every setback needs to become a lesson. And not every problem needs to be transformed into an opportunity for personal development.
Sometimes something is just annoying, and you're perfectly entitled to think so.
Why sarcastic wall art works in a kitchen
Although my unmotivational quote prints aren't exclusively designed for kitchens, I think they're particularly well suited to them.
The kitchen is often the first room people visit in the morning, and I can't think of many things less appealing at seven o'clock than being instructed to seize the day before you've had a cup of tea.
A print that says Here We Go Again feels considerably more appropriate.
There's also something funny about putting deeply unenthusiastic statements in a room associated with feeding people, looking after families and getting through everyday routines.
Not My Problem might be particularly amusing in a kitchen where the dishwasher has become a source of ongoing domestic conflict. Could Be Worse, Give It Time seems appropriate for almost any household, while This Is All Pointlesscould easily describe the experience of cleaning a kitchen that will be messy again within twenty minutes.
I like that these prints can make people laugh without requiring an elaborate setup. The humour comes from recognising something familiar.
They're not intended to make anybody miserable. Quite the opposite. I think being able to laugh at life's less impressive moments is often far more useful than pretending they don't exist.
Uninspirational quotes don't have to mean boring artwork
Just because a quote is deliberately unmotivational doesn't mean the artwork surrounding it needs to be dull.
My approach to these designs is to create something that people will want to display, rather than treating the words as the only important element.
Colour, composition and visual personality still matter. A sarcastic statement can be even more entertaining when presented as something decorative and cheerful.
There's a contrast between the appearance of a print and the message it delivers, and that's often where the humour becomes most effective.
I particularly enjoy the idea of somebody walking into a colourful kitchen, admiring the artwork and then realising that one of the prints is offering spectacularly poor life advice.
It's a small moment of surprise, but those are often the things that make a home memorable.
Mixing Food Art, Rude Kitchen Prints and Unmotivational Quotes
Although I've developed these as separate collections, I don't think there's any reason they can't sit alongside one another.
In fact, I think combining them can make a kitchen feel more individual.
You could start with a couple of colourful food paintings, add a funny kitchen print and finish with an unmotivational quote that reflects your general attitude towards Monday mornings.
The result doesn't need to follow a strict theme. The connection might simply be that you like the colours, appreciate the humour and enjoy having artwork that makes you smile.
That's how I think people should approach buying art in general.
There's a lot of advice about choosing pieces that suit particular interior design styles, but I think personal taste is much more important than following a prescribed aesthetic. A home should reflect the people living in it, not just the current preferences of an interiors magazine.
If you love bright colours, use them. If you enjoy sarcastic humour, don't hide it. If you want a painting of a pineapple hanging next to a print about lowering your expectations, I can't think of a particularly compelling reason not to.
Artwork that starts conversations
One thing I love about funny and unusual wall art is that people notice it.
A visitor might admire a painting because of its colours, ask about an unusual subject or laugh when they read a caption. It's a much more personal interaction than simply commenting that the walls look nice.
And because kitchens are such social spaces, that feels particularly appropriate.
They're places where friends gather while you're supposed to be cooking, where family members sit talking long after they've finished eating and where conversations happen without anybody having planned them.
Artwork that creates another little moment of connection seems like a natural addition.
It doesn't need to be expensive, enormous or particularly serious to be worth displaying. It just needs to mean something to the person who chose it.
Original Kitchen Paintings or Colourful Art Prints?
One question worth considering when buying kitchen artwork is whether to choose an original painting or a print.
I create both, and I think they serve slightly different purposes.
An original acrylic painting is a one-off piece. It has the physical qualities of the paint, the decisions made while creating it and the knowledge that you're buying the actual artwork rather than a reproduction. For people who enjoy collecting original art, that can make it particularly special.
My smaller original food paintings are also an accessible way to begin collecting original artwork without needing a huge space or budget.
Prints, on the other hand, make it easier to experiment. You can buy several designs, create a collection, change things around or introduce colour into a room without making a significant financial commitment.
For someone who likes my food artwork but wants a smaller or more affordable option, an A5 or A4 print can make perfect sense.
I don't see one as automatically better than the other. It depends on what you're looking for, where the artwork will go and what you enjoy collecting.
There's also nothing wrong with having a mixture of original paintings and prints throughout your home. I certainly don't think artwork needs to be expensive to be interesting.
Colourful Kitchen Prints That Actually Feel Like You
Ultimately, that's what connects all three of my collections.
The regular food paintings celebrate the colour and character of ordinary things. The funny and rude kitchen prints take those familiar subjects and give them a rather questionable sense of humour. And the unmotivational quote prints offer a less enthusiastic alternative to the endless instructions to be positive, successful and grateful for absolutely everything.
They're different ways of making artwork that feels a little more human.
I don't want every piece I create to be serious, and I don't want every painting to require an explanation. Sometimes I want to explore a difficult subject through art, and other times I want to paint a lemon or make a terrible joke about garlic.
Both have their place.
For me, colourful kitchen wall art is about more than finding something that matches the cupboards. It's about introducing personality into a space where so much of everyday life takes place. It might be a bright painting that catches your eye, a rude print that makes your friends laugh or an uninspiring quote that feels painfully accurate on a Tuesday morning.
And if your kitchen ends up looking beautiful while simultaneously telling people to lower their expectations, I think that's a perfectly respectable decorating decision.