AN APPLE A DAY

Apples. Apples in the fruit bowl, in the lunch box, cores in the back seat of the car, Apple phones, Apple computers, apples in the bible, fairy tales and in myths. The persistent and ubiquitous nature of the apple makes it a constant in our lives.

The series was begun in June 2019 when I painted an apple core in the kitchen window.

So much about what we do is repetition, eat, work, sleep, repeat. And so the act of painting the apples became part of my everyday.

I have painted the apples as objects in space with no context. The apples are mounted like separate specimens.  I did not set out to paint the apple as a still life. The images are all done in watercolour. Watercolour is unforgiving, it bleeds its way into the paper and doesn’t give you a second chance. The work has to be done quickly for the paint is instantly permanent and emphatic.

Whatever happens, the day is done.

Tomorrow is a new page and a fresh start.

An apple a day.

Looking at each square piece of paper is like looking at an odd wall calendar, watching the days tick over. Every apple is a discreet image but part of a continuum.

These pictures are usually done together over 1 or 2 days. Sometimes they are similar, sometimes they are mixed up to create an odd family of images. 

These are single images of the fruit that can stand alone. There is usually a clarity that I like – the shape of the core, a particular shadow or an odd bleed of colour.