A co-worker handed me this apple--a random selection from a bag he had purchased at an orchard he had visited. I turned it around and around admiring its color and shape. I decided to do its portrait. I discovered it to be much more challenging than I had originally thought. Its voluptuous top and delicate tapered bottom rivaled any life drawing in difficulty of execution. Next the color changes were distinct, but had lovely transitions from one color note to the next. I painted, I struggled with transition. I painted again. I scrapped the paint away and started the passage over again. After two evenings of trial and transition, I completed the apple painting. A friend who stopped over and saw it sitting on an end table declared that at first she thought it was a real apple. It is a real apple to me. It represents the apple in paint that I held in my hands and slowly turned around and around to admire its beauty. Paintings to the artist are experiences that we choose to honor and recall. That Apple, The Place, The Season.
