London Cauliflower

A single cauliflower rests at the heart of this scene, nestled on a rumpled sheet of paper that soaks up the warm glow of the room. Ella Williams painted "London Cauliflower" in 2010, and her choice of subject feels almost cheeky. Vegetables rarely earn a spot on the wall, yet here one sits proudly among plain bowls and a flash of red in the upper corner. The ordinary suddenly seems worth a longer look.

Color and light do the real work in this painting. Warm oranges and soft peach tones wash across most of the surface, cooled here and there by patches of blue in the background and along the little bowls. Williams paints loosely, laying down thick strokes that hint at forms instead of drawing them out in careful detail. Her approach carries echoes of a long still life tradition, from Dutch kitchen scenes to Cézanne, who argued that a piece of fruit could hold as much interest as any grand subject.

No big drama plays out on this canvas, just a quiet kitchen corner treated with real affection. Williams clearly enjoys the simple act of pushing paint around, and she finds something worth celebrating in a plain white vegetable catching the afternoon light. Sometimes that honest pleasure is all a picture needs.