Painted by the artist in almost dark conditions in the simple home of a Peruvian family high in the hills above Cusco. Guinnea pigs are free range on the floor and a large open fire and cooking pot provide the simple healthy food. Peruvian clothes give this painting a real sense of place and it must be one of John’s most unusual subjects to date. Read more below:

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My host family lives in a small home constructed from adobe mud bricks and consisting of one main living space. Bedrooms were accessed via an outside yard. In the yard sheep, cows, pigs and chickens live. The chickens are at liberty to wander into the inside living/kitchen space and half of that space is dedicated to a guinea pig farm! The guinea pigs wander around the kitchen on the earth floor and steal scraps of food when they can. Cooking is on an open fire (which is also the only form of heat) and there is one very small electric light and no windows. The family sit on rough wood benches and boxes. I was served excellent vegetarian food and felt so inspired by this honest kitchen that I decided to paint it live in the midst of the animals and smoke to capture the essence of the Peruvian kitchen and life. I was served simple boiled potatoes in their skins and a dipping bowl of salt, quinoa soup, and broad beans (which I had helped to harvest the previous day). The family were intrigued by the painting and, as it progressed, it was a fantastic way for me to communicate with them as they spoke Quechua, the native language of the High Andes, of which I have no knowledge. John Dyer

The painting is featured in the book 'Painting the Colours of the World' by Kate Dinn.

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