STORY BEHIND THE ART OF ELIZA JEWETT

22nd Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists at Marin Art & Garden Center

Toyon

Heteromeles arbutifolia

Native and widespread in California, toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is a member of the rose family. It produces small white five-petaled flowers in the summer; however, the red fruits, which ripen in November or December, are mainly what the plant is known for, and what inspires its other common name, “Christmas berry.” When green, the fruits contain compounds that produce the poison hydrogen cyanide when combined with stomach acid in the belly of any creature that eats them. Once the fruits fully ripen, the toxic qualities vanish and the fruits turn bright red to indicate that birds and mammals should feast away (and by doing so, disperse the seeds). Hollywood also owes its name to toyon: the shrubs with red berries and glossy green leaves that cover the Los Angeles hills were mistaken for holly. Toyon is a tough, adaptable, and drought-tolerant plant, surviving anywhere from hot, sunny chaparral slopes to mostly shaded areas under trees.

When painting toyon, I wanted to portray a large number of the fruits, both green and red, and also capture the shiny leaves and some of the beautiful pinkish-red shades that older leaves turn. To hold the branches in a natural position for painting, I leaned a metal cooling rack from the kitchen against the wall and wired the plants to it, with each stem in its own small floral water tube that had to be refilled at least once a day due to the size of each branch.

As with all my botanical paintings, I tried to portray this plant with total accuracy, while also maintaining a somewhat loose and painterly style, reminiscent of the field sketching I so enjoy. So rather than try to smooth and hide every trace of a brush stroke, I purposely left some of the spontaneous individual strokes visible.

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