DIGITAL ILLUSTRATION GALLERY
saltfish & plantain
Saltfish & Plantain, Valerie Caesar, 2026.
When I arranged this array of objects onto my counter, it fell into a tableau so quintessentially Caribbean that it couldn’t help but initiate a whole-ass photo shoot. I’d been traipsing through Flatbush, the neighborhood I grew up in, and ducked into a produce shop to see if they had any ripe mangoes. Standing in line to pay, I spotted a package of smoked herring in the fridge case, and couldn’t resist. Although preparing dried smoked fish involves a series of water soaking or boiling to release the salt used to cure the flesh, it’s worth it to enjoy a visually beautiful meal of tender, flaky, flavorful forkfuls of fish, seasoned with aromatic onions and sweet, colorful peppers.
I actually began by rendering the image using a CMYK halftone brush. I’ve been wanting to play with this style with a relatively simple image with recognizable shapes and simple colors.
Saltfish & Plantain (CMYK halftone), Valerie Caesar, 2026.
This resulted in a starkly printed version of the image that evokes the cereal boxes, comic books and children's readers of my youth, for which I couldn’t help creating a children’s book-style mockup. Adding the words gave it an extra Richard Scarry picture book-type feel.
Saltfish & Plantain (CMYK halftone storybook), Valerie Caesar, 2026.
Saltfish & Plantain (CMYK halftone gif; separate and additive), Valerie Caesar, 2026.
Ultimately, I wanted to see this image a bit more realistically rendered. So I returned to my favored greasy oil pastel brush to capture the shades of green that comprise the plantain, the silvery brown, delicately marbled flesh and skin of the dried fish, and the varying red hues of tomato and pepper.
Saltfish & Plantain (sans background), Valerie Caesar, 2026.
Framing the work has proved to be the hardest thing for me. I usually know what I want to draw, but more often than not, it’s an object floating in abject space. As inspired as I am by spot illustration, the details of the landscapes within which my works reside escape me. I’m the last to know where the hell we are, which actually corresponds to my lack of direction in real life. It’s terrible. Here, I returned faithfully to the triangle patterned background that is surely becoming a trademark for me. I don’t mind, as I like the way it looks, as well as the way it ties my works to a universe that is uniquely mine. But between you and me, I didn’t have any other ideas! Shrug. Anyway, I dig that this piece is an un-self-conscious nod to the culture and cuisine that raised me, and that I still love to this day.
A CLOSER LOOK
Watch this short video at the full screen setting to view the making of Saltfish & Plantain, (pastel and CMYK halftone versions) in closer detail, and hear the music paired with it.