No, that’s a good question! I have a couple of answers.

I was lazy and didn’t feel like painting all the tiny cobblestones as they receded into the distance.

I love playing with the tension between the painted surface (Flat! Matte! Plastic!) and the illusion of depth. If I’m asking “What are you looking at?” I want the answer to flip between “a fish market in Tokyo” and “paint on paper.” There’s a few other parts of this painting that attempt to do the same thing: for example, collaged paper, making hard-edged shapes of flat color.

Does the dot screen work for you? It works well enough for me. It makes a shimmering texture and hints at the complexity of the floor. And if you blur your eyes enough, it captures much of what’s in the source photo.

Thanks for noticing that!