5 O’Clock Afternoon

Acrylic on canvas, 2026
16 × 20 in.

This painting began with a simple arrangement of flowers, a bottle, and a glass, but what held my attention was the light.

I have long been drawn to Art Deco forms. The geometry, the symmetry, the quiet elegance. I collect pieces that carry that sensibility, and this arrangement grew from that instinct. The tulips try to cooperate. Mostly they do.

Late afternoon light has a way of organizing everything it touches. Edges clarify. Shadows connect. Color settles.

On the surface, nothing is happening. It is an ordinary moment. The kind that arrives around five o’clock, whether you acknowledge it or not.

In building the image, I followed the movement of the light. The structure reflects that, with planes shifting to hold its direction and weight.

What emerges is less a still life and more a moment of balance between activity and rest.

A quieter suspension. The kind that suggests five o’clock is less a time than a permission, easy to miss if you are in a hurry.

On view in SUSPENDED
Award Alcove, Artel Gallery
Pensacola, Florida