Lin once said, "although Cubism is pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, it is actually continued from Cézanne," and "the aesthetics of Cubist paintings lies in geometric shapes". In Lin's experiments and innovation, still life paintings have come to the fore. He aimed to pursue the geometric order to construct a picture plane and the complexity of geometric shapes; at the same time, he explored to illustrate the relationship between line, shape and space. In Still Life with Flowers and Fruits (Lot 115), most part of the picture is applied with dark colours, presenting a sense of calm, while the stark white contour lines become the focus of attention. The white lines sketch out the shapes, and divide the tableau spatially, forming the objects and the space. Lin applied the fundamental theory of how lines form a plane and how planes form a three-dimensional object. In Still Life with Flowers and Fruits, books, notebooks, and the desk are shaped in straight lines, while the plates, fruits, and vases are drawn with curved lines, creating well-balanced overlapping geometric planes.
The method of overlapping shapes is also seen in Lin's Chinese Opera series. It reduces "loose" areas in a picture plane, clearly shows the actual objects and creates a three-dimensional space. Lin established association and reconstructed the layout and shapes in an orderly way, then brought the objects closer together to occupy the unnecessary empty space. The layout is then united as a whole, and looks cohesive throughout. Lin further worked on Picasso and Cézanne's theories; once again, he employed the means of integration rather than separation to manifest fully the concrete-abstract relationship between object and space.
Sunflowers (Lot 114) mainly makes use of the intensity of ink and colours to indicate the volume of the space and object. Against the solid black lines, light ink is applied to paint the chiffon. The window frames and curtain divide the interior space. The sunflower leaves tinged in blue are the original creation by Lin. Through various reflection of light from all kinds of objects in the room, including the yellow Sunflowers, the green leaves turn into a delicate blue all of a sudden. Beside the pot of Sunflowers, the two colour balls sitting next to each other, one in blue and one in green, further demonstrate Lin's studies in light and colours. The glimpse of beauty in nature advocated by impressionists is fully captured by Lin in his still life.