A heavy glass vase containing a few dried chili peppers provided the starting point for this painting, and here the tone of the painting is much lighter, using shadow less as an element of the composition, and more compressed, with the motif fully contained in the height. I liked the slight 'Tower of Pisa' lean of the vase against the rigid grid of the tiles , and the distorting effect of the glass. The spiky hot red chilli peppers provide a sharp color contrast to the green of the glass, and add to a sense of movement created by, and contained within the bounds of the vase .

Dragons (Vase with Chilli Peppers)
30x40, oil on canvas, Aug 1999

Castile Galerie, Charlotte, NC.