Realism as a style has remained unchanged since the Renaissance. Realism as a technique, however, has been altered and heavily influenced by technology. Most artists have given up “eyeballing” a subject as a drawing technique and have come to rely on photographs instead. Turnaround time for photographs is now virtually instant because of digital cameras and computers. Photoshop can actually “paint” a picture for you. Artists have always used the tools at hand and of their time …. Camera obscura, compass, protractor, calipers, rulers, etc.

​The challenge has always been and still is the same: How do you make a work of art and not just an artwork? How do you infuse poetry into what you are doing and give the work meaning and beauty? One of the things I try to achieve in my work is the creation of a feeling of three dimensions through the objects I paint, whether they are flowers or boxes or antique kitchen appliances. The space between the objects and the viewer is usually somewhat shallow. However, behind and around the objects, there is the illusion of great depth. An artist friend of mine once said that the object of painting, whether realistic or abstract, is to make a two-dimensional space appear to be three-dimensional. Maybe it’s just that simple.