Description
Cold Melon is a mixed-media painting inspired by a small Kanpoke bonsai whose compact form spreads broadly beneath a brilliant canopy of crimson flowers.
What first attracted me to this tree was the intensity of the blossoms against its dark, substantial trunk. I pushed the flowers toward a deeply saturated red, allowing them to become the visual focus of the painting. Beneath them, the dark trunk and green moss create a strong central mass, while the broad antique bonsai pot provides a quiet foundation for the composition.
As with the other works in my mixed-media bonsai series, the tree is placed against a patterned background rather than a traditional landscape setting. Layers of color, repeated marks, and shifting patterns create an active space around the bonsai while allowing the tree to remain monumental despite its small physical size.
The bright turquoise, green, and blue background also provides a strong contrast to the crimson flowers and dark trunk. The result is less a literal portrait of the bonsai than an exploration of its character—its spreading form, brilliant flowering, and sense of age contained within a small tree.
Cold Melon continues my exploration of bonsai through drawing, printmaking, painting, pattern, and expressive mark-making, bringing the aesthetics of bonsai together with my own mixed-media process.
Artwork Details
Title: Cold Melon
Subject: Kanpoke Bonsai
Medium: Mixed Media
Artist: Ron Reekers
Original Artwork: One-of-a-kind origina
Other bonsai mixed media related artwork can be found at https://www.reekersart.com/product-category/paintings/mixed-media/
Social Media
You Tube – https://www.youtube.com/ronreekers ; Here you can see me in the process of making a Bonsai related artwork
Instagram @ronreekers; Here you will see my latest Artwork and Bonsai work
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/reekersart
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/ronreekers; Where as low as $3 month you can become a patron and get a free print on your yearly patronage.
