Connie Ruel
I have been passionate about art for as long as I can remember! My first formal art class was doing watercolor on muslin at 10 years of age, winning 1st place at a student art show. I spent 12 years abroad where I could experience the work of the masters in renowned museums, sketching and doing art studies while continuing my career in the food, beverage, and hospitality industry. After returning home, I utilized this growing talent and passion to design my restaurants and create plated food art.
Being a restaurateur left little time to hone my painting skills but in 2017 after selling my fifth restaurant, releasing my memoir cookbook, and appearing on the Food Network’s “Chopped” and “Guy’s Grocery Games,” I am now able to dedicate all my time to art.
In following my relationship with food, I have done many still life paintings with food themes, but my real interest lies in figurative and portrait. I work primarily in oil but have developed a growing passion for egg tempera.