I work in a Photo-realistic style using photographs as my still life and many of the flower and foliage paintings were taken from my wife's garden.   Using close-up and telephoto lenses on my camera allows me to get right into the picture from a "bugs eye" view.  I then project the photos onto a canvas, grid it off and then meticulously paint each section of the photo using acrylics.  Painting in this way is like putting together a giant Jigsaw Puzzle.  I like working with sharp detail against blurred and out of focus images.  The blurred images become abstract colorful shapes and these blurred shapes against sharp detail give the painting a three-dimensional look.  Since I work in a meticulous and precise Photo-realistic style, it takes over a month to create each painting.