My intentions with this piece are relatively simple. I was aiming to represent the different possible prokaryotic cell envelopes in the simplest way possible while still being able to recognize distinguishing features, recall why the gram stain gives the results it does, and recognize major structures in each of the major envelope classes. I leave it as an exercise to you to remember which is which. Not included: pseudopeptidoglycan, pleomorphic cell envelopes, anything related to the word “eykaryote’.
I chose to do the painting in abstract form so I could represent the envelopes in a manner that was faithful to the real deal but without losing the forest for all the phospholipids…er…I mean trees.