Tag: bonsai drawing

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Creating an exciting painting with a beautiful background using Geometric and Organic stencils and Complimentary Colors.

In Part 6 of my video series on creating a bonsai mixed media artwork, the focus shifts to the background. This step builds on the complementary color palette I developed in Part 5. So I begin to energize the painting using layered acrylics and stencils. The result is a vibrant, supportive backdrop that enhances the bonsai image and Kanji symbol without overpowering them.

Starting with Color

I begin by reviewing the color cards selected from the marble paper and use warm tones like Cadmium Yellow Light, Raw Sienna, and Cadmium Orange, and cool tones including Cobalt Blue, Permanent Violet, and Alizarin Crimson. To control value and intensity, I use Ivory Black and Titanium White. This will allow me to lighten or darken any mixture as needed.

Choosing and Placing the Stencils

To create structure and movement in the background, I introduce two types of stencils: geometric patterns for the center and organic patterns for the top and bottom of the painting. I do this so that the geometric stencils can provide a visual counterpoint to the natural forms of the bonsai tree, while the organic stencils hint at elements like wind, clouds, grass, and waves.

Applying the Paint and Building Layers

Using a relaxed, intuitive approach, I begin applying the geometric stencils with acrylic paint in the central area of the composition. Rather than trying to be overly precise, I allow the act of painting to be a bit messy and expressive. This makes the process more enjoyable and keeps the work dynamic.

Next, I move to the top and bottom sections and begin using the organic stencils. I carefully shift the values of the paint from dark to light to keep the viewer’s eye centered on the main subject. Throughout the video, I also show how I mix on the palette to control color temperature, intensity, and value.

The Background as a Supporting Character

This part of the process is not just about adding decoration—it’s about shaping a background that acts as a strong supporting character in the composition. Through thoughtful use of color and layered patterns, the background now feels alive and integrated with the bonsai image.

Watch the Full Process

This video offers practical insights into painting technique and creative decision-making. Whether you’re working in mixed media or another medium, I hope it gives you ideas to apply in your own process.

📌 Watch the full video here: YouTube @rreekers
📌 Support the journey on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/ronreekers
📌 Explore more of my artwork: www.reekersart.com
📌 Follow on Instagram: @ronreekers

Feel free to leave a comment or question—I’d love to hear your thoughts or answer anything you’re curious about. The next video, Part 7, will dive into the theme of Loss and Gain, a reflective phase of this journey.

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Bonsai Drawing Series – Wisteria in Pastel

This instruction video shows you how I approach bonsai drawing in pastel. I start off with a sketch on black Canson pastel paper. I like using black because it act as a line as I progress with the drawing. To do the sketch I use a red pastel pencil. The layout of the sketch is important to define how the viewer will move their eye along the artwork. This generally starts at the intersection between the trunk of the tree and the soil. I like to start with a circular motion from there and into the foliage. I find laying out the detail is also important at this stage since it will dictate the texture.

When I complete the layout, it will give me a roadmap of how to proceed with the application of the pastel. When starting with the pastel I like using the darker colors first. This creates a base in which I can start to build my colors. I will lightly blend the color into the paper. To determine the colors that I will use in the motif, I have a set of color cards and compare these cards to the base colors. This helps save time since I don’t have to search through my large array of pastels. Once I determine the colors, I can then compare the pastels to the cards. You will see how I use the side of the drawing to look at how those colors look on the black paper. I enjoy applying the pastel around the object. The negative space defines the object (positive space). I can see how well they are working together at this stage. I love the way pastel lends itself to blending. I can create a soft light and ethereal background by rubbing the color transitions.

The rest of the time is finishing the work up to your satisfaction. I like to think of this as scratching the artwork until in itches no more

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Bonsai Drawing Series – Perspective

https://youtu.be/AwSXmQxDgNA

Perspective is the way we seeing things from our point of view.  This video discusses in detail how perspective, specifically ‘Linear Perspective’, influence our Bonsai Drawing and our Bonsai development. We begin with a fundamental understanding of one-point and two-point perspective. I show how of a horizon line and vanishing points originate from our point of view and how objects occupy our ‘Field of View’; i.e why objects look larger the closer they are to you. 

Applying perspective to our drawing gives the artist the technique for showing objects in space; I illustrate this using a Bonsai Pot.  When drawing a Bonsai Tree showing the pot accurately in space can give the drawing a sense of reality. The video also discusses in detail ‘Foreshortening’ and how that influences Bonsai Artist to develop Bonsai Trees with large bases and exaggerated taper. In addition, the concept of perspective also plays a role on how l we layout our Forest Plantings called ‘Saikei’.  The video finishes with a short demo on how I trim my forest plantings and how perspective influences my decision making.

Though perspective is conceptually “easy” to understand, practically it can be very difficult to apply.  My goal in this video is to remove some of that complication and provide a simple way of applying it to our drawing and bonsai development.

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Bonsai Drawing Series – Perception

Instructional video on understanding Perception in Bonsai Drawing

Perception is a subject studied by Philosophers and Artist throughout the ages.  Maurice Merleau-Ponty in his book ‘Phenomenology of Perception’ writes how Perception is the background of experience.  Artist looks at Perception as a relationship between what we see and a clear understanding of that experience; in our case the viewing of a Bonsai Tree.  In this video I take on that subject of Perception and how it can help you understand ‘what you see’ and translate that to a drawing descriptively and clearly.

One way of understanding “Perception” is to explore the phenomenon on how we see an object and how we interpret it in space.  As a child we draw the world flat and symbolically, whereas when we mature, and experience the world 3-dimensionally, we begin to “describe” the world more in terms of space; this is reflected in how we approach drawing.  The drawings created by the child is therefore much different that of an adult.

This video illustrates that they’re learnable tools that can help us define a descriptive space such that overlapping items, removing ambiguity, detailing and value shifting in the motif can better illustrate the tree we are drawing in a mature way. 

I sincerely hope this video clarifies your understanding of Perception in drawing and furthers your interest in our goal to help accurately draw your Bonsai tree.  Most importantly further your enjoyment of the beautiful Art of Bonsai.

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Bonsai Drawing Series – Types of Drawing

Instructional video on methods for drawing your Bonsai

In this video I discuss the 3 types of Bonsai drawings; Symbolic, Imaged and Descriptive. The video uses a Femina Juniper Bonsai as our ‘model’ and discusses the method for drawing in these 3 particular types, as well as the Pros and Cons for these methods.

In drawing a Bonsai Tree (or anything for that matter) we use all three types of drawing in one way or another. This video, and subsequent videos, will show how to recognize your approach and ultimately give you a good understand on how to do your own drawings within your own aesthetics.

My method is to tilted towards the descriptive way of drawing for getting a better understanding of “seeing” and a better method for understanding and visually experiencing your tree. The goal is to increase your appreciation for the beautiful world of Bonsai and help you develop the tool of drawing to increase your experience of Bonsai.