My father was a machinist... a tool-and-die maker; he worked for the same company for 47 years! During WW II, he fabricated parts for the turbines that powered submarines. Over time, as the company upgraded its machinery, they would scrap some of the old machines that no longer met their needs. My father, being “thrifty”, would acquire them, restore them to their former glory, and use them to provide freelance metalworking services to car mechanics and the like. Over time, he was able to outfit a small but practical machine shop in the basement of our home. One such machine is the small cast-iron lathe depicted here. Machines such as this one, along with its accompanying tools and miscellanea, have been a part of my life for the last 70 years. When I returned to painting in 2010 after a nearly 20-year hiatus, they became an ideal subject for my still life paintings. Augmenting that trove of highly unusual industrial items with colorful tin toys, croquet and billiard balls and balloons continues to provide me with an endless source of inspiration. Completed in 2017, this piece is oil on a cradled wood panel, 30"h X 40"w, and is framed.