Apple of My Eye

I keep telling myself I'm done with painting apples but then I start another one. There's something compulsive going on here. My poor little model (the "real" apple in the middle) is now 4 weeks old and I think has given up on ever having a normal apple life. This one apple has suffered all manner of indignity - from rolling into the paint to falling on the floor to having its stem violently tugged at as I twirl it around to get the right light. Why not buy another apple, you might ask, and eat this one? Well, I have bought other ones, but you know how Picasso would just paint from one of his wives or mistresses at a time? That's kind of how I feel about this apple. It has all the right qualities of apple-ness that I'm looking for right now: fairly symmetrical, oval shape, touches of green and yellow, a nice stem that leans to one side. I'm afraid if I eat it (or throw it away - it's really beyond edibility right now) I will need it at some point for reference and will regret not having it. A photo is just not the same.

I might as well come and out and admit it here - I've formed an attachment to an apple!