That is Priceless by Steve Melcher for November 03, 2021

The artist Raphaelle Peale: Self-portrait

What’s that book with an orange on top? / Is the citrus some kind of a prop? / More a sweet illustration / of the book’s deviation, / and a kind of mechanical crop. /// What’s the novel in which Alex purges / all his violent, creative urges? / Metal mainsprings unwind / like this fruit’s spiral rind. / “Clockwork Orange,” by Anthony Burgess.

Either cut the orange or peal it, not both!

Clementine is doing a striptease.

For this still-life, the artist prepared / a large orange, first halved and then pared. / On a table, a book / in a nondescript nook. / And what did it all mean? No one cared.

As the humans slumber at ease,

Randy loosens the grip on his ‘squeeze.’

There’s a young apricot

who thinks he is hot,

So he snakily slithers to please.

When the publisher asked the author to write a book with appeal, I don’t think this is what she meant!

Now orange you glad you can read? / And here is the book that you need/ to get out of the bind/ if you’re more inclined/ to go read your Twitter feed/// what? You say things are going to seed ?That books are impeding your speed ?/ That the turning of pages/ takes ages and ages -/ time which you could be using to breed ?/// Well, I’m not gonna beg or to plead/ and my presence is not guaranteed/ at your odd exhibition/ I’ll appear on condition/ that you call my work “surreal indeed”.

In my mind’s eye, Melch chuckles with glee / when this painting and caption we see. / “On a book, there’s cut fruit. / Now, go type something cute, / if you think you’re as funny as me.” /// In addition he’s set a big snare / for a writer of limericks to dare. / Try to rhyme the word “orange,” / and you’re stuck writing “door hinge,” / an odd phrase that won’t fit anywhere. /// So, I guess that Sol may as well quit. / Crown Steve Melcher the Wizard of Wit. / Orange you waiting for / someone clever to soar? / Surely Ish’s stuff will be a hit!

Takes a special kind of a guy/ to paint a good “fool the eye”/ but to properly say/ “trompe l’oeil” the French way/ is a feat that I won’t even try.

Jethro unpeeled to try and directly absorb biblical knowledge sufficient for refuting those seedless atheists.

Everyone’s gone. Wanna get naked?

Best part: The artist’s name is Peale!

A good book adds zest to one’s life.

Melcher’s comment was excellent — unrind!

Raphaelle PEALE??? How apropos!

“Hey Julius where did you put the Vodka?”

That’s not Clementine, it’s Grace Froot.

Very appealing, so to speak.

Orange you glad you didn’t buy War and Peace.

Melcher is THE Master.

Perhaps Mr. Melcher’s Clementine would like a little Pastis with that orange?

You appear to have missed it. Your “orange” is a clementine. A clementine is a tangor, a citrus fruit hybrid between a willowleaf mandarin orange and a sweet orange, named for its late 19th-century discoverer. And Clementine is unwinding with a good book.

Yeah, baby, take it off!

Raphaelle believed that using orange peel as a bookmark always added a bit of zest to anything he was reading.

Mandatory event in the orange peeling olympics: Make a G clef. Well, pretty close, anyway.

Don’t look Ethel!

…but it was too late. Mooned her right there in the novel section.

Still Life with Orange and Book: 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Still_life_with_orange_and_book-raphaelle_peale.JPG 

has info and links that point to more info about this 1815, roughly A4 paper size, oil on panel painting.

Again, a larger strip image is shown by (⌘- or Ctrl-) clicking the image at 

http://thatispriceless.blogspot.com/2021/11/masterpiece-2820.html 

I have added a comment there (already approved by Mr. Melcher) pointing to the artist info I used to point to here. First work by this artist used here.

It looks more like a Valencia.

For this painting, Peale did not dare/ to resort to a peach or a pear./ There being no melon/ to be found in his dwellin’/ an orange is lying there.///A banana is easy to peel/ but the fruit stand denied him a deal/ and a pun on his name/ was a ticket to fame/ though the juice is inclined to congeal…

Raphaelle realized that he became too “distracted” painting nudes, so it was the still life for him.

What couldn’t be shown is the painting of Clementine unrinding with a bad book …

Can we hurry up and deal with these statues? My breakfast and my good book are waiting!

She stood at the mantle and cried/ with faithful old Trey at her side/ and crumpled the note/ her physician had wrote: / “Dear Lydia: the rabbit has died..”

Oh wow, thank you, Raphaelle Peale is one of my favorite artists.