In an age where convenience often replaces connection, my work captures a fading piece of food and human culture. These paintings celebrate the charm, warmth, and sometimes beautiful chaos of human interaction.
By transforming chalkboard menus into lasting works of art, I reflect on how different societies once expressed desire, tradition, and hospitality, before digital design and standardization began to erase those unique cultural voices.
This series is a tribute to the shared experience of dining. A celebration of culinary tradition, cultural diversity, and the connections we make around food. Each piece reimagines the chalkboard menu as a permanent reminder of those moments.
I’m not just painting menus. I’m preserving the moments when food brought people together across tables, across cultures, and turned a meal into something meaningful.
40" x 30"
Cocktail culture once communicated elegance and escape through hand-drawn sophistication—where every flowing script promised transformation and connection.
The last traces of sophistication created by human hands.
40" x 30"
The disappearing visual language of Irish hospitality—where "Céad Míle Fáilte" wasn't just painted on a board, but lived in every hand-chalked invitation to belonging.
Hospitality was once an art form, not an algorithm.
60" x 48"
Cannabis culture’s visual evolution from whispered shadows to hand-chalked celebration—capturing the exact moment when forbidden knowledge became community craft.
Cultural revolution happened one hand-drawn invitation at a time.
60" x 48"
Where dinner divides and breakfast rushes, brunch unites.
This ritual meal dissolves the boundaries between night owls and early birds, creating a shared space where everyone belongs and no one watches the clock.
60" x 48"
Through his wife’s bloodline comes this celebration of Spain’s greatest gift; the art of lingering over small plates and large conversations.
This menu becomes a promise to Santiago that he’ll know the warmth of his madre’s cultural soul.
60" x 48"
Like the legendary fisherman who discovered a realm where time stood still, diners at Urashima’s enter a sacred space untouched by our hurried world.
Here, the ancient art of sushi- making unfolds with the same reverence as centuries past, transforming simple ingredients into moments of pure presence.
60" x 48"
Before industrial farming erased our connection to the source, humans understood their dinner’s true cost.
This butcher shop stands as an outpost of that frontier honesty, where every purchase honors the wild abundance that once sustained all civilizations.
48" x 60"
Before we hid behind screens, we lingered at bakery counters, sharing stories while selecting our daily bread.
This patisserie celebrates when food purchases were conversations, and strangers became part of your morning routine.
60" x 48"
In honoring his Italian heritage, Fitzgerald creates more than a menu, he builds a bridge between his son Leo’s future and his ancestors’ past.
Each hand-lettered ingredient whispers of Sunday dinners where love was measured in extra servings.
48" x 60"
In this sanctuary of real interaction, advice flows as freely as the ice beneath the salmon.
The art of asking questions, receiving recommendations, and building relationships one conversation at a time lives on.
Background & Formation
Nicholas Fitzgerald holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Miami and a Master’s in Art Education from the Art of Education University. He studied at prestigious institutions including the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Pilchuck Glass School in Washington, developing a foundation in both traditional and experimental art practices.
The Culinary Awakening
While working in restaurant kitchens to support his family during his studies, Fitzgerald experienced what he calls his “culinary awakening” in 2018. Creating custom signage for establishments across Southern California, he observed line cooks arranging garnishes with the precision of master calligraphers, recognizing that the most sophisticated visual language in human culture was happening at the intersection of food and hospitality.
Technical Innovation & Philosophy
This experience sparked a breakthrough that changed his artistic practice forever. Fitzgerald pioneered the world’s first permanent chalkboard art technique, using specialized oil pastels on canvas to create collectible works that capture the authentic aesthetic of traditional chalk signage. Working within the tradition of text-based Conceptual Art established by Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari, his innovation bridges the gap between ephemeral chalk art and fine art collecting.
But Fitzgerald’s vision extends far beyond technique. He developed what he calls “Universal Canvas Theory”, the belief that artistic expression exists in every human gesture, from food plating to stone arrangements.
Technical Innovation & Philosophy
This experience sparked a breakthrough that changed his artistic practice forever. Fitzgerald pioneered the world’s first permanent chalkboard art technique, using specialized oil pastels on canvas to create collectible works that capture the authentic aesthetic of traditional chalk signage. Working within the tradition of text-based Conceptual Art established by Ed Ruscha and John Baldessari, his innovation bridges the gap between ephemeral chalk art and fine art collecting.
But Fitzgerald’s vision extends far beyond technique. He developed what he calls “Universal Canvas Theory”, the belief that artistic expression exists in every human gesture, from food plating to stone arrangements.
The Global Cultural Mission
Fitzgerald recognized that an entire visual vocabulary—the specific ways different cultures communicate appetite, hospitality, and community through food presentation—was disappearing worldwide as digital standardization replaced regional handmade traditions. His Menu Collection represents the final archive of how humanity visually expressed its relationship with food before corporate homogenization eliminated cultural distinctiveness across societies.
Current Practice & Market Position
Fitzgerald currently serves as a full-time art educator while maintaining his practice as a professional artist, creating commissioned works that celebrate shared experiences, conversations around the table, and the everyday artistry of gathering spaces. His innovative technique has positioned him as the only artist worldwide creating permanent, collectible chalkboard-style art, specifically focused on preserving humanity’s visual food culture.
The paintings aren’t just art; they’re the final archive of how cultures used to seduce each other with food before standardization eliminated the beautiful diversity of human hospitality traditions.
Gallery Inquiries Welcome
Available for exhibitions, art fairs, and private showings.
Commission Work
Custom menu-inspired pieces and large-scale installations. 6-8 week timeline.