Story behind the art of Mary Crabtree
28th Annual International
American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art & Garden Center
Chanticleer
Pyrus calleryana 'Chanticleer'
A mature Chanticleer pear tree hangs over my garden fence, sharing its beautiful spring flowers and richly colored fall foliage. The leaves turn and drop late in the year and, due to their leathery nature, persist on the ground long after other fallen leaves have begun to decay. Often in late autumn, when I’m outside cleaning gardens or sitting in the sun with my dog enjoying the season, I find myself picking up a pear leaf and thinking, “Oh, this one would be fun to paint.” And then another catches my eye and so on, with me not able to choose among them. This leaf however caught and held my interest. The combination of multiple colors and the damaged areas seemed a wonderfully intriguing subject.
The Chanticleer pear is a cultivar of the Callery pear, (Pyrus calleryana), which is native to East Asia. In the family Rosaceae, its clusters of five-petaled, creamy-white flowers with purple anthers appear in early spring before the leaves unfurl. These are followed by round, pea-sized fruits which, although edible (just ask my dog!), are bitter and distasteful to most. The fruits persist on the tree through fall and winter and, after being softened by frost, are attractive to birds. Flies and bees are the major pollinators.
The species is named in honor of Joseph-Marie Callery (1810-1862). Callery was an Italian-French priest and botanical collector who spent several years in southeast Asia, first as a missionary and then as an interpreter. During his travels, Callery collected approximately 2,000 plant specimens, 15 of which were previously unknown to science, including this pear species named after him. The species was given the common name, Chanticleer, in 1965 when it was introduced in the US by the Scanlon Nursery after being found growing on a street in Cleveland, Ohio in 1950. Reportedly, the name Chanticleer refers to the vibrant spring blossoms and fiery fall foliage which create a visual symphony, recalling the beautiful, melodious, singing rooster of that name in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.
Inspired by Rory McEwen’s leaf studies, I chose to paint this leaf at life size in watercolor on Kelmscott vellum. The challenges involved preserving highlights to accurately depict the leathery texture of the leaf, and replicating the nuanced color variations from deep autumnal reds and browns to greenish gold and subtle touches of lavender blue. The dark edges where the leaf is torn add to the drama of this leaf’s story.
Having had only a single season to live, it is small but tells quite a tale!
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Read more about this artist's work: 26th Annual