Martini #14

8" x 8" x 1.5"

Acrylic on Canvas

When I was a boy, maybe nine or ten, my dad gave me a taste of beer and a taste of wine. I never acquired the taste for adult beverages, though because I didn’t like the taste. My dad, and my mother, in fact, weren’t big drinkers. They’d ring in the New Year with champagne, toast their wedding anniversary with a glass of red wine, or they might, on occasion, drink a refreshing ice-cold beer on a hot summer day. As for martinis, they left that sophisticated beverage to James Bond. Shaken, not stirred. 

I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of martinis. As a non-drinker you’d think that wouldn’t be the case. It’s the sophistication and high society that piqued my imagination. And It’s that certain secret agent that inspired my martini and olive series, suave and upper crust.

In that series, the square pieces have a three-olive composition, whereas only two olives fit comfortably in the rectangular format. Upon further research, I discovered that traditional martinis are typically garnished with one or three olives, with three usually served in a dirty martini. Apparently, the olive brine makes an otherwise clean martini dirty. So, it appears that an even number of olives is considered unlucky in the world of martini drinkers... Oops!