Tic-tac-toe

A geometric lattice of horizontal and diagonal lines is overlaid on a cluster of still-life volumes - round spheres and tapering cone or teardrop forms - each resting within its own compartment of the grid, as if seen from above at a steep angle. The crossing diagonals read like an X across the structure, echoing the game-board pattern named in the title.

The scene is worked in dense pencil hatching over a near-black, star-flecked ground, with the spheres and cones picked out through smooth graded shading that gives them convincing volume against the flat white grid lines. The contrast between the crisp geometric framework and the softly modeled forms creates a puzzling, almost cosmic still life.