'Dark Cake'

Here's a little-known "fun fact" about yours truly: When I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison a decade ago, I did so with a degree in art history (as well as a degree in journalism).

As such, it shouldn't be too shocking to hear that I love it when honest-to-goodness artists turn to video games for inspiration.

That's just what Ashley Anderson has done in a recent series of works that are based on food items pulled from various games. My favorite is "Dark Cake," a 9.5-inch-by-8-inch drawing made with colored pencils.

Here's what Anderson has to say about the piece:

"This cake, despite its resemblance to my much earlier piece Kirby's Cake, is actually from the Bubble Bobble series; in fact, this is from the very first Bubble Bobble. I'm not sure how odd we can consider this resemblance in imagery between two far separate series, given the limitations of the software and hardware of the time. Maybe those limitations formed certain unofficial conventions to take hold in the construction of imagery? It's an interesting question with some significant ramifications, I believe.

"I wanted to re-examine the cupcake image with a little more sophisticated use of light and hopefully color, so I used some of Wayne Thiebaud's work for a reference. I should have pushed the values more, but that's learning for you."

Go here to see more of Anderson's work.

See also: 'Turnip Murder' and 'Your princess is in another castle'