Today, we are looking at the wonderful Lithuanian artist Gabriela Elgaafary (we will be referring to her as Gabriela because her last name broke my autocorrect), Both her large- and her small-scale paintings of food and other common objects are really something to behold. The daughter of an impressionist painter, Gabriela was surrounded by art from the beginning. Though she went to university to study interior design and advertising, she eventually returned full time to painting, her first love.

Gabriela’s paintings are meant to bring to our attention elements of daily life that can be overlooked. The artist plays with heightened color, scale, and intentional composition to get our attention. She wants us to appreciate the beauty around us, and I think she does a marvelous job of it. Though her work looks photorealistic from a distance, as you get closer, those impressionistic roots become more obvious. Gabriela intentionally leaves brushstrokes visible to make the paintings feel alive rather than perfectly polished.

You can follow Gabriela Elgaafary on Guy Hepner’s website, in her Etsy shop, and on Instagram and Facebook.