Art themes are very popular with artists, allowing them to chose one or more subjects to specialise in during their working lives. However, I have noticed that this tends to be rather broad-based, ie. a person works in landscapes, or seascapes or still life, etc. But what about breaking their subject down into a tighter one which will give them a really wide scope, within the same genre? As an artist, I actually enjoy painting the old-fashioned still lives...... These though, tend to be a composites of elements - perhaps as many as five, from which the illustration is composed. So why not chose just one of the elements, in this case apples, and make a drawing or a painting using this one item and (possibly) some of its composites in order to create a unique work of art? In the instance shown here, I have used a small group of apples (and one of their deritives - apple jelly) and have, I believe, presented them in a visually appetising and appealing format. This is not a complex arrangement, but from a potential still life work, composed of a number of items, e.g. apples, a vase, draped cloth, a knife and a wedge of cheese, I have created a painting using just one of these items - leaving four future works using the other items, ready to be painted as the imagination dictates! I will leave you, the artist to decide which of these four you will chose to create an exciting drawing or painting...... Keep on illustrating and enjoying your work and thank you for your comments. I really enjoy reading (and learning from) them. Regards, ANNE D'ALTON.