Ok, I confess, I borrowed this urn from the still life closet at school. I love the aged matte surface, the antique quality of the tones and texture. It was hanging around my studio for some time before I did anything with it. Months in fact. Often I find I have to look at an object for a good long time, before I figure out how I want to use it. It’s as if I need a sort of gestation period to get to know the object, to become friends with it, because even when I begin to arrange the still life it’s not always clear how I’m going to incorporate the item.
In this case I topped the urn with a green Fuji apple that fell off our tree in the backyard. We planted it last year so we weren’t expecting the more than two-dozen apples we got this year. They were so heavy on the thin branches that they were actually deforming the tree and we had to remove some before they ripened. But this one just blew off in a high wind. Being as it was the first it was only fitting that it be immortalized in some way, don’t you think?
I’m so grateful we can actually grow apples here. Fuji works well in our climate which is really hot in the summer. I actually like Gala apples better – and Pink Ladies, but Fuji do well in the heat. What are your favorite apples?
I’ve posted step-by-step photos of the painting process in my newsletter which you can subscribe to here. Click here to share or for purchase.