"Illustrations leave room for more creativity in the kitchen." - Q&A with Johanna Kindvall
With her creative yet straight-forward approach to food and illustration, author and illustrator Johanna Kindvall uses art to bring her recipes to life.
You may recognize Johanna’s work from our book Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break or her second book, Smörgåsbord: The Art of Swedish Breads and Savory Treats (her rye bread recipe is regularly baked in my house).
I love Johanna’s style because it’s minimal yet full of energy. Her lines are clean and simple but paired with robust colors. This pairing is particularly perfect for guiding people through recipes and methods, especially more complex ones like making sourdough.
In our ongoing Q&A series with artists, I caught up with Johanna to learn more about her process and inspiration.
When did you start making art and how did you end up becoming a professional illustrator?
Growing up in a creative home—my father was a draughtsman/artist and mother a textile artist—there were always plenty of drawing materials. From drawing paper dolls as a kid to ceramics to creating my own clothing collection with my twin sister as a teenager. Since then, my work has been exhibited in several art shows. My illustration style was mainly developed while I studied design and architecture at HDK, University of Gothenburg. After my masters graduation, I moved to NYC to work in architecture. Parallel to my day job I kept drawing. It was mostly random things that caught my eye in my everyday life in the East Village. However food was always a popular theme and in 2005 I started my illustrated cooking blog, kokblog to keep up with my drawing as well as to collect my recipes. Today I work solidly as an illustrator, pattern designer, and cook.
Can you give us a little insight into the process of your work, and how you go from idea to finished illustration?
Most of my ideas appear while I’m busy working but I also find inspiration and new energy on daily walks (in the city or in the woods), visiting museum and art shows, food shopping, or when I’m in the kitchen cooking and baking. I love collaborating with others. It’s inspiring and it often makes me see things differently, which is a challenge.
My initial drawings are mostly done with a pencil or a black pen on random scrap paper or in my sketchbook. When it comes to coloring, I like working with watercolor and gouache which I scan and collage with my minimal line drawings.
For several decades now, photography has been the preferred method of showcasing recipes. What do you think that illustrations bring to a cookbook?
Actually, most of my favorite cookbooks are illustrated. I think the focus is more directed to the content rather than on mouth-watering photography. I also find that food photography can be inhibiting while illustrations leave room for more creativity in the kitchen. But don’t get me wrong, I love food photography and use it as inspiration all the time.
If people are interested in starting to illustrate food, what tips would you offer them?
Practice practice practice! Experiment with different techniques, styles, and materials can help you find your own style. Don’t think too much about the result, especially when you are just sketching or about to start a new project. Try to play and have fun.
What are some of your favorite things that you are making in your kitchen right now?
I’m still, after almost 10 years, obsessed with baking with sourdough. It's fascinating and I keep learning new things. Recently I gifted myself a grain mill and found great pleasure baking with home-milled flour. Besides my ongoing kombucha brewing, I’m also making wine vinegar with different types of leftover wines. The result is so amazing that I haven’t bought any wine vinegars for almost a year. I really can’t find anything within reach that beats my own (ahem!).
I have also started to grow mushrooms in leftover coffee grounds. It's at a very early stage but I’m very excited.
Who are some of the artists and food people that you are inspired by?
Swedish favorite illustrators are Cecilia Torudd (Ensamma mamman which is a comic strip about a single mom) and Björn Berg (Emil of Lönneberga and Teskedsgumman). I also grew up enjoying the lines of Saul Steinberg and I’m also very fond of the work of Maira Kalmna.
Most food people that inspire me are close friends, connections, and collaborators. I’m also inspired by different baking techniques and can easily spend hours browsing baking tutorials from all over the world. The tutorials can be different kneading methods or how to laminate dough for flaky pastries.
What do you find intriguing about the intersection of food and art?
I use drawing as a tool while developing a new recipe as well as when learning a specific baking or cooking technique. Simple scribbles give me a quick overview of the whole process without the need of reading through a whole recipe while messing around in the kitchen.
You can follow Johanna on Instagram @johannakindvall and support her work on Society 6.
Want to learn more about artists working at the intersection of food, art, and land? Check out our Art section.
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