WHY DO PEOPLE PAINT PICTURES OF FRUIT?

I like paintings

that take me somewhere far

from the chair I occupy.

So, landscapes,

lighthouses, and Tudor homes

suit me fine.

But paintings of fruit bowls

and abstract pears

don't take me anywhere.

And yet I stare

and wonder why and where

they come from

and what compelled the artist

to paint these multi- colored carrots.

Flowers in the field

I understand but

flowers on the table

I cannot fathom.

What could be the appeal of them

and does the artist charge by the pound?