The idea for this painting came to me as I watched European blackbirds eating the fallen apples in my backyard. In the autumn when it gets colder, the thrushes, who normally feed on berries and insects, seem to find the fallen apples an easy food supply. They eat them and stay around for the most part, chasing other birds away from "their" apple. Both the European blackbird and the American robin are members of the thrush family, and I was very happy to learn that both species exhibit almost the same behavior. Although the majority of American robins migrate south, those who stay longer do eat apples and love them, so I thought The Apple Lover was a good title. As I spend a lot of time in the US, the robin has become as familiar to me as the European blackbird. The birds are good singers and apple lovers. - CB