FAUX FLOWERS (circa 1965) Perhaps the earliest known example of early work by Lewis. When Lewis first decided to use the brushes he had been manufacturing for so many years as tools with which to create his own art - he decided to take some painting classes. While it might be considered superfluous for a naturally gifted artist like Lewis to take instruction - Lewis regarded it as an opportunity to add further craft to his own innate genius. Lewis decide to paint this distinctive floral arrangement. When he triumphantly brought the painting home - after labouring over it for a mere six months - reactions were mixed. Indeed one critic tried to dissemble the work. "The flowers don't look very real" he sniped. Lewis was swift to respond. "That's because they're artificial flowers" he explained. And the critic was duly silenced. Seeing these two flowers adrift in the pink jar that represents the universe itself - we glimpse a little bit of Lewis' approach to life. There is no water - yet the flowers flourish. And though the flowers are the same colour - one of the flowers (clearly the male flower) is shown towering over the female bloom. Perhaps a reflection of his profound belief that a woman's place is lower in the vase of life.