STORY BEHIND THE ART OF MARY CRABTREE

25th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Wave Hill

‘Hot Cakes’ Stock

Matthiola incana ‘Hot Cakes’

I don’t remember when I first experienced the plant commonly known as “stock,” but, although I’ve never grown it, I have come to think of it as a harbinger of spring. In late winter, just as it seems the cold will never give way to warmer days, stock appears in garden centers and supermarket floral displays. The look of it grabs you—extravagant single or double flowers in shades of pink, lavender, purple, white, yellow, or red—but what really draws you is the scent. The sweet, spicy, clove scent just screams, “SPRING!”

Matthiola incana is a biennial or tender perennial in the cabbage family, Brassicaceae, that is winter hardy to USDA Zones 7-10. As expected from that family, the flowers are edible with a “snappy” radish-like flavor. The genus name honors Pierandrea Mattioli, a sixteenth-century Italian physician and botanist who believed that the scent of stock flowers might have medicinal value, and that the flowers and scent promoted love and lust. Native to the Mediterranean region, stock was cultivated in ancient Rome and introduced to England early in the sixteenth century.

In England, stock was further cultivated to produce the many colors and flower types we know today, including double-flowering varieties that are sterile. It is called stock because of the woody base it develops, and over time it has been given different epithets for various characteristics. ‘Brompton stock’, after the form found at Brompton Park Nursery in London, is especially fragrant. ‘Hoary stock’ has greyish leaves. The common name “gillyflower” comes from the French “giroflée” and the Greek word for clove; and the label “ten-week stock” refers to the length of the growing season.

I painted this piece in watercolor on vellum. I’ve only recently begun painting on vellum, but on my very first try I was hooked. I love how the paint goes on with only the slightest of washes, followed by layers and layers of dry brush. And the vibrancy and depth of color that can be achieved on vellum is amazing! After experimenting with a few small subjects, I was ready to paint something larger.

So it was that in early March I was looking for a subject to paint on a lovely piece of classic calf-skin vellum, and this double-flowered ‘Hot Cakes’ stock was perfect. The flowers had starlike centers of white and green in contrast with pink petals, and there was a warm tone to the pink that showed very nicely on the creamy vellum. Working through this piece taught me a lot about painting on vellum. The layers of petals, detailed flower centers, and soft, velvety leaf texture each presented a different challenge. And I’m still hooked on painting vellum!

The bonus was that I got to have ‘Hot Cakes’ stock in my studio for a month, where its glorious scent carried me through the last winter days and on to spring.

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Read more about this artist's work:23rd Annual