11” x 14” oil on canvas panel, 2023.
 
I had been thinking of doing a small still life style painting for fun or to take to an art fair. I can’t recall the reason, but I suddenly decided that a can of Spam would be the way to go. 

Maybe it stems from my life long love of Warhol or that my wife really likes Spam. When we first met, she told me that she had lived in Hawaii twice in her youth and I immediately asked if people there really love the canned meat like I had seen on a travel show. She confirmed it was factual indeed.

While I was working on the piece, I started to wonder if the name was an acronym. My best guess was Specially Packaged Assorted Meat. I quick Google search informed me, “The name Spam was derived from a contraction of 'spiced ham'. During WWII and beyond, the meat colloquially became known in the UK as an acronym that stood for Special Processed American Meat.”