Since I'd considered this my first conceptual piece, these are my thoughts on the work. The work began with a simple idea: painting and carving the same object—a strawberry. Seemed like a simple idea. Something I have done for along time ...painting, and something I have not been doing a long time but like doing... carving.

As the vision came together, the carved strawberry began to look real. Then a moment of perplexity:  being confidently sure it is a real strawberry, without knowledge its a carved object, then just as sure it is not when knowing it is carved. There is a natural trust in what is seen, even without complete information. The carved strawberry is not real, yet its presence can still be sensed. The torn paper introduces another layer. It suggests depth, but also interrupts the scene and creates balance. 

Feeling perplexed with what I was seeing in my work I thought it’s not just about being right or wrong—it’s about how real something can feel, even when it isn’t. Even when it is understood that neither the painting or the carving is a real strawberry, it is difficult to fully articulate why it still feels real. What seems true and what actually is. In this small, tangible moment, an intuitive understanding of how perception, assumptions, and reality interact. It is felt before it is thought about. A little strawberry could say so much. For this reason, I felt it's a visual paradox. The title, What Is More Real?

Having said all that, its a nice small 

conversation piece.