Van Gogh made painting irises a classic exercise for many artists. Originally, he gravitated to painting irises as a means to escape tension. He referred to the picture known as "Irises" as "the lightning conductor for my illness" because he felt that he could keep himself from going insane by continuing to paint. This still life digital composite and painting is copyrighted by Matthew Schwartz on 7.9.2016. All Spadecaller artwork posted on Imagekind, Facebook, and elsewhere is copyright protected. Permission to copy, appropriate, reclaim, alter, or otherwise distribute, display, or sell is prohibited.