Apple at The Grist Mill
2021, Oil on Oil Primed Watercolor Paper Mounted on Birch Board
14.25 x 20.75 inches, unframed
When I was studying with Odd Nerdrum, he told me that until he was about 40 years old he struggled ruthlessly trying to decide what to paint. I think that this experience is quite common for artists and can feel like an enormous pressure. We all want to be original and make paintings that are unique. That is, after all, what we prize the great masters for. Nerdrum gave me his secret: “If you don’t know what to paint, paint an apple. Then, continue painting simple subjects faithfully. Eventually, your visions will be endless.”
Painted in front of The Grist Mill, Wayside Inn, Sudbury, MA.