Jennifer Pate, the artist behind Maridad Studio creates food-inspired illustrations with the intent to celebrate the human form and the foods that connect us together. She aims to evoke feelings of joy, desire, and a sense of playfulness through her surreal anthropomorphic characters. By providing relatable yet affordable art prints of her original creations, Jenn hopes to bring entertaining and charming “conversation starter” pieces to anyone’s home.

Although I find myself to be an artist of many mediums, for the past 4 years I’ve been exploring watercolor and continuing my lifelong love for drawing. I feel fortunate to have found a balance within my art practice, between my love for the human form and creating realistic but surreal combinations with food. Indulging in the connections between the feelings and embodiment of the foods, beverages, and objects we associate with is what truly inspires my artwork. From seasonal offerings to cultural traditions, I find myself hungry to learn more about what brings us together, building meaningful connections with others in the community, and learning to be vulnerable along the process. I wish to share individual stories alongside my own in order to contribute to this overarching need for a collective self validation.