Wright was fascinated with California’s indigenous vegetation. He studied the shape, color, and texture of what he called "inexpensive objects of beauty" and learned to capture in his art the subtle golds and tans of the California countryside.
In this still life pears are presented in all their chromatic glory of muted oranges, reds, browns, yellows, and greens and are contrasted with the darker, black eggplants and delicate green and terra-cotta colored grapes. The subject and the treatment of the fruit as simple geometric shapes reveal Wright’s familiarity with the work of Paul Cézanne (1839-1906).
Wright luxuriated in the wetness and transparency of the watercolor medium and worked quickly with very wet pigment. The vigorous black strokes outlining the objects are typical of his watercolors of this period, inspired by the paintings of Georges Rouault (1871-1958) and Wright’s own work in stained glass. He considered line to be a means to organize a composition by fitting together the shapes of objects as if they were pieces of stained glass. He thought that these lines would not be solid or static because "there was nothing static in the brilliant light of California." As did JOHN MARIN, whom he greatly admired, Wright framed his composition with strong, broken lines.
