I’ve painted my own meals and leftovers for many years, keeping a camera close by while cooking to capture the particular angles and framing I want for my photo references. But during the pandemic, I began a series based instead on photos my friends and family were sharing of their food. Relinquishing control of my reference images, while vicariously sharing meals, focused my attention more on the physical qualities of paint. The results are these paintings, which preserve and share the pleasure of the original fleeting moments in new ways.