Story behind the art of Karen Kluglein

26th Annual International

American Society of Botanical Artists and Marin Art and Garden Center

Dwarf Espalier Honeycrisp Apple

Malus pumila

I purchased an espalier dwarf apple tree early in the spring to plant along a fence. Espalier is a method of pruning so that the tree grows flat and can be planted against a wall or trellis to maximize sunlight and enable it to fit into tight spaces. The tree I chose has three different varieties of apple that had been grafted into three separate tiers. It has one trunk and three branches going to both left and right horizontally. 

By June, this tree’s gorgeous flowers had sprouted many small apples that I watched grow. Though I had been admiring the tree’s blossoms and apples, it was the lacy skeletal leaf and the delicate shadow it cast that I found irresistible to paint. When painting the cast shadow of the leaf’s skeleton I had to be particularly careful to indicate that the shadow made sense. I wanted to ensure that solid sections of the leaf cast a broader shadow and that the shadow got darker as it wrapped around the shape of the apple. The shadow had to be believable.

After I finished working, I had to figure out the exact type of apple that I had painted. Luckily, the tier whose apple I portrayed had a tag, while the other two tiers did not. It was labeled “Honeycrisp.” However, when I double checked, Honeycrisp apples are shown as being yellow, yet mine had been very green. Could it have been mislabeled? I met with the horticulturist where I had purchased the tree in hopes of finding an answer. She was able to look up the grower and see what varieties they use on their espalier trees. Ultimately, by eliminating the other two varieties the grower used, the horticulturist deduced that my specimen is in fact a Honeycrisp apple that had never developed the yellow color we are more familiar with. She also explained that my apples stayed small, and perhaps green, because I did not reduce the number of apples in a cluster when they first formed. She instructed me to remove some of the small apples to give strength to the others. I will heed her advice this year and see if it makes a difference. 

Overall, I like that this painting shows the tree’s life cycle, first from lots of blossoms to apples and then to the decaying leaves at the top that look like wings taking flight.

Next Story

Back to List

Read more about this artist’s work:24th Annual