It's bold, colorful, stripped to the bare essentials, yet keeping the significant details.

bouncing off highly reflective surfaces is excellent. And you went into great detail in your instrument details which reminds me of your series of camera paintings where you developed your ability to paint sharp metallic details so well. Your use of color contrast between black and red does remind me of licorice a bit. I think your composition is reminiscent of the elegance of the grand musical theatres that big cities have where dressing up is de rigeurur and opera glasses are commonly used to watch the stage. Lace and velvet and sparkling jewelry glinting in the low light reflected from the stage. I can almost smell the delicate scent of perfume the older ladies love to wear. And sitting in the audience you can get lost in the texture of the brocade curtains and the lighting on the stage. It all looks so elegant and classy.

Wow, you have the rare ability to see so much in a painting! The title Box of Licorice" was an obscure reference to the old slang term for the clarinet. In the Big Band Era, they used to call it a licorice stick! I figured no one would get the reference! Ha! I was right!