Today we’d like to introduce you to Penelope Moore.
Hi Penelope, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My passion lies at the intersection of art and taste. As a Contemporary Artist with a unique form of Synesthesia, I express flavor onto the canvas as large-scale abstract paintings. I experience taste as color, pattern, texture, and emotion—and translate that sensory complexity through oil paint and palette knife. Monet’s quote, “I would like to paint the way a bird sings,” is a guiding force in my work. Through LIVE Action Painting and Abstract Expression, I aspire to capture the “song of the bird” by bringing taste to life, through immersive visual performance.
I earned my BFA in Fine Art Painting from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco in 2004, with a foundation in traditional realism and still life. But in 2015, a creative breakthrough shifted my path from realism to abstraction. I was no longer compelled to emulate reality in the form of representational paintings, but rather to embody what I could feel and visualize through taste—becoming a conduit for flavor through the language of Abstract Expressionism.
Beyond the canvas, I curate immersive exhibitions where the guests become participants in the evolution of the painting while tasting, mingling and interacting. The act of creating the art becomes the art itself; encapsulating the moment in time. I collaborate with chefs, wineries, musicians, and art-driven brands to produce multi-sensory experiences that blend gastronomy and fine art. My intention is to deepen the relationship one has with fine art through storytelling, by blurring boundaries, and confusing the senses that leave lasting memory impressions—like the resonance of a bird taking flight.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the greatest challenges in my career as a full-time artist has been self-educating in business and marketing. While art school sharpened my technical skills, it left a gap in areas like finance, sales, and promotion. Navigating evolving platforms, algorithms, and the art market often feels like a full-time job in itself—leaving painting as just 20% of what I actually do.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a synesthetic artist, I specialize in translating taste into visual art through a unique sensory experience I call, Art of Taste. Known for my “Painted Tasting Notes,” I use my rare ability to perceive flavor as color, texture, and emotion to create immersive, multi-sensory oil paintings. What I’m most proud of is sharing this process through live, expressive Action Painting, where the act of creating becomes the art itself. The painting commemorates a fleeting moment, becoming its only tangible memento. Every painting has its own story to tell. Each piece begins with a liquid muse, evolving into a live visual performance that captures the essence of flavor through expressive brushwork, layered textures, and vibrant hues. What sets my work apart is this authentic fusion of senses—where painting becomes tasting, and tasting becomes a visual journey.
Art of Taste “Painted Tasting Notes”
I see taste. When I paint, I taste flavors in the colors and when I mix colors, I taste flavors in the paint. My oil paints are like a spice rack; when I paint, it feels like I am cooking. When I taste, I imagine an array of spices and fresh ingredients at my fingertips while I visualize the nuances of color and texture that correlate. I see it all in vivid color and texture and paint it.
This “mixing of the senses” is a rare form of synesthesia where I visualize flavor as color, pattern, texture and emotion. My painting process always begins with a blank canvas and a sip of wine. I begin each piece on pure white canvas to represent the linen that is typically held behind the wine glass to enhance the truest color of the wine. The elongated drips from top to bottom of the canvas simulate the legs of the wine. And with texture and pattern of my brushstrokes, I am able to communicate the mouth feel of tannins or smoothness of the wine. Color always translates to flavors like the sweetness of strawberry and plum, or acidity of lemon or tart cherry. And my finishing touch is to embed mica into the paint that acts as my signature mark and resembles minerality in the wine. My frames are always natural, unpolished wood which emulates the feeling of the wine barrel.
I create every painting live, as a visual performance. These action paintings suspend moments in time, tell a story and evoke memory. I am merely a conduit; a visual voice to express the emotion of flavor onto canvas.
What were you like growing up?
FROM BARTENDER TO ARTIST OF FLAVOR:
My passion for wine began during art school in San Francisco while bartending as my college side hustle and taking frequent trips to Napa Valley to paint in the vineyards.
Soon after graduation, in 2005 I moved from San Francisco to Savannah, GA. I immediately got a job pouring wine at a wine bar & restaurant called aVida on Broughton Street. It was quite literally one of the hippest spots in town. I had an opportunity to exhibit my wine paintings, build my wine network and establish relationships with the regulars who were all avid food and wine enthusiasts, many of which transpired into long term friendships today. While living in Savannah (the first time) from 2005-2008, I painted bar and restaurant scenes, still life table settings, wine glasses, wine bottles, bar ware, cupcakes…anything foodie related was my subject and stylistically in the form of contemporary realism.
I have always been passionate about food and wine. I believe Chefs and Winemakers are artists too and I have an enormous respect for their craft. Working alongside so many incredible culinary and hospitality professionals has been one of the highlights of my career. Having the opportunity to travel to many beautiful food and wine centric destinations of the world has been the ultimate inspiration in my work and joy in my life.
It was through working in the restaurant industry where I fell in love with the magic of wine. Even when the language barrier is the tallest obstacle, food and wine connects; it brings people together. Often, at my own art openings, you will find me behind the bar pouring wine for the guests, which is also a great way to get to talk to every person in the room.
I was born in Salt Lake City, but I have spent the majority of my life in Northern California and Napa Valley. I lived in Northern Italy from 2017 to 2020, exploring wine regions and building a collection of Italian wine inspired paintings. I currently reside in Savannah, GA, with an art studio at City Market in the Downtown Historic District—also known as ArtHaus Napa—bridging my Napa world to the opposite coast.
Pricing:
- 36×48” $7500
- 60×60” $12,500
- 72×60” $15,500
Contact Info:
- Website: http://wineartlife.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wineartlife
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/penelopemoore
- Other: https://youtu.be/7jfqL6hLVow?si=pY5K-yknQ2oWNAXc
