STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ROSEMARY DONNELLY

19th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists & The Horticultural Society of New York

Cherry Plums with Blossom

Prunus cerasifera ‘Atropurpurea’                     

 Prunus cerasifera ‘Atropurpurea’ is an ornamental, deciduous fruit tree grown mainly for the attractive foliage more so than for the fruit which, while edible, are much smaller than that of a regular eating plum. Native to south-eastern Europe and Western Asia, the cherry plum was discovered by M. Pissard, French head gardener to the Shah of Persia. In 1880 he sent back to France the first purpleleaf plum tree from which all other varieties in cultivation today are descended.

Painting fruit on a branch is a subject which I find particularly rewarding. There is something so appealing to me in the contrasting textures of globular fruit, gnarled branches and vibrant leaves. What initially attracted me to want to paint this variety were the abundant clusters of small, dangling plums set amongst contrasting dark leaves and also the way the light coming through the red stems and new growth complemented the fruit color so perfectly. The fruit of ‘Atropurpurea’ are not solidly red but have a softer, more glaucous quality and to capture this effect I used many initial underlying washes which were followed by fine dry brushwork to produce a delicate, translucent finish. For this reason I decided to use Fabriano 640 gsm paper which can handle multiple washes without buckling.

Another part of this plant’s appeal was the challenge of capturing the unique color of the purple-red leaves, aging to greenish-bronze with burgundy undertones and serrated margins. I achieved this by again layering thin washes of color, cerulean blue, lemon yellow and quinacridone red, then alternating between various darker reds and greens until I reached the desired effect.

A further challenge posed by this subject was in capturing the very delicate, white to palest pink single blossom successfully, and also in deciding where to position another branch on the page after having completed the one with fruit and leaves.

This particular specimen came from a very old plum tree that grows in a backyard in my neighbourhood and hangs over the back fence into a laneway where I often walk my dogs; my neighbor kindly permitted me to take specimens. The tree brought back memories of my childhood as we had a beautiful cherry plum tree in our front garden which produced masses of slightly sour fruit in late summer/early autumn. My younger siblings and I would wait until the fruit were soft and at their sweetest and then have competitions on the lawn to see who could spit the pips the furthest.

This work forms part of a series of paintings depicting fruit and blossom from the Rosacea family which I have produced over the past eight years or so. Another painting in the series, Prunus persica ‘Versicolor’ is included in the Florilegium of Sydney Botanic Gardens which is celebrating its bicentenary this year. 

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Read more about this artist’s work: 17th Annual International