Transcripts
1. Introduction: Hello, everyone.
Welcome to this class. We are going to paint a Bonsai
tree with autumn leaves. It's a miniature painting
just like a bonsai. This painting is very
delicate and easy to do. I will guide you through the
whole class, and in the end, we will frame the
painting to decorate our homes or to give it to someone as a
very special gift. I'm Daniella Schey.
I'm an architect, garden designer, and artist, and I love painting
nature inspired pieces, creating my unique home
decor with my art. It reflects my personality
and connection to nature. I'm so in love with boons eyes. I don't have a real one yet, but I do have many
paintings inspired by boons eyes using
different techniques. The art of Bonsai is very old, originated in China over 2000 years ago and much
later brought to Japan. Bonsai means planted in
a shallow container. And the aim of this
fine craftsmanship is to create a realistic
depiction of nature. And as miniature trees, they are influenced by seasons. Okay, the goal of this class
is to have a relaxing, enjoyable moment
painting a beautiful, small and delicate
Bonsie tree with autumn leaves using
very simple techniques. You can use what you
learned today to paint more boons eyes and build a collection with
different species. Why not? The class techniques
are very basic and simple. So even if you are a beginner, you'll be able to follow along. Thank you very much for being
here and let's get started.
2. Class Project: Your class project is to paint our own autumn Bn's eye using the techniques
of the class. And here's the fun part. You can either paint
a Bn's eye just like mine or use the class as an inspiration to create your own unique buns eye.
It's totally up to you. You can use the
watercolor paints or even guash if you prefer. It also works great with
more saturated colors. To make things easier for you, I made a sketch you can use, and I also included some reference photos of
Bonsies to inspire you. You can download everything in the resources section
of the class. And of course, you can find many other inspiring Bn's
eye pictures online. Like on Google Images
and Pinterest. And now something
super important. I can't wait to
see her paintings, so make sure to
post your artwork in the project
gallery of the class. If you have any questions, you can post them in
the discussion section, and don't forget to leave
a review for the class. It helps me out a lot. Now, let's take a look at the materials
we're going to use in the class. Thank
3. Class Materials: Okay, so here are the materials that I'm going to
use in this class. I have two water jars, paper towel, pencil
for sketching, rubber, number three,
watercolor brush, the watercolor pen set. This one is from Vangag brand. It's a good one, very practical. There are good colors here. Greens, beiges, and yellow red that we are
going to use in this class. Masking tape, a ruler. H maskintaper said already. Watercolor paper, A four size. And in this case, we are going
to make a tiny painting. So I'm going to cut a sheet
of paper into four parts. So I'm going to have two
squares and two rectangles. And we're going to paint on 14 by 14 centimeters
size square paper. So for that, you
may use a scissor or you can cut your paper on a cutting mat using a cutter. And we're also going to use printer paper for
sketching and testing the colors out before painting on the watercolor
paper. That's it.
4. Preparing the paper: I've got my four size
watercolor block here and I'm going to
use one sheet of paper. So I will cut the paper into four parts because this will
be a very small painting. With the roller, I see
here it is 28 centimeters, so I measure 14 centimeters and mark the same
measurement vertically. For cutting the paper, I can use a cutting knife, a roller, and a cutting mat or I could use regular scissors. Now I have two squares, 14 by 14 centimeters and two smaller rectangles
that will be leftover. I will save those
rectangles for creating some tiny paintings in
the future. Thanks.
5. Sketching the bonsai: It's always good to start the work by doing some sketches. Looking at this reference, I see that the trunk
is a bit curved. There is a group of leaves here, another higher up,
and here's the tree. I will let the
leaves in as I go. This other bonsai, for example, has a really thick trunk from which many twisted
branches come out. I think this tree is
so beautiful with these red leaves and
this dense canopy. But the trunk isn't that interesting since
it's too straight. I think a curved trunk is
way more visually appealing. So I'm going to
use red leaves but from the maple tree
because they're amazing. And I'll make a curved
trunk for my bonsai. Talking about the leaves,
they're beautiful. They have this spread out shape, very characteristic of maple
trees, full of details. But since the painting
is going to be small, I won't have this
level of detail. I will paint directly with the brush without drawing first. So with my paper
next to the sketch, I will mark the centers
on the edges of the paper and start drawing
the tray very softly. I will copy my sketch with a soft pencil outline so later, I can easily raise it
off or paint over it. It is important to keep the
same distance at the top, bottom, and sides, so the
drawing stay centered. Now I'll at the branches. And it's easier to see now. And the sketch is ready.
6. Preparing the paints: I've picked out of these
three brushes here. This one, I'm not sure I'm going to use number
zero too small, and these other two,
which are number three. I will leave them
here for a while. Well, before I start painting, I always test the
colors first on another piece of paper
like this printer paper. I've got two jars of water here because I'm using
different colors, it's always handy
to have two jars. This is an autumn
season Bn's eye, so I'm going to
use autumn colors. I'll start by activating the
paint with a bit of water. I will test the colors
to see how they look. You guys can choose
the colors you prefer. This is totally
free and intuitive. Pick the colors
that remind you of autumn and that will give
the bonsai that autumn look. I really like these colors.
I'm going to use them. There is also this
other earthy brown, which I like it too. I think I'm not
going to mix colors. Just dissolve them in a bit of water to soften and
lighten the shapes. I'll do that here on
the paint palette. Let me clean this other paint so it doesn't mix
with this color. So I've got beige,
yellow, red, brown. Those are the colors I'm going to use for the autumn leaves. Now I'm going to practice the brush strokes
for the leaves. They're really small. Look
at the size of the trunk. It's super tiny. I know the leaf shape
is something like this, but this is still way too big. It needs to be much smaller. Actually, it's going to be more like this with no defined shape, creating some small lines. Just making some tiny lines, delicate strokes, and it already looks like
a maple tree leaf. This is the look I
want. Very delicate.
7. Painting the bonsai: Let's start painting the
Bo's eye tree for real now. I'm going to tape down the
edges of the paper with masking tape so it stays
in place on the table. You can tape all the four
corners if you want. I've got all the materials here. I'm using a size tree brush. So I'll start with the
leaves, not with the trunk, and then I'll fill in the spaces between the leaves with the
trunk and the branches. I'm starting by painting lighter colour leaves to
create a sense of depth. Lighter leaves in the background and darker ones in
the foreground. I'm painting directly on the paper without sketching
with a pencil first, just going straight
in with the paint. You can see I'm
not being precise, and that's totally fine. I'm stylizing the leaves
in a loose free way, and that's enough to represent
the maple tree leaves. This painting is very delicate, and I'm placing the leaves intuitively in a
very relaxed way. Peter, I will
layering more colors, but for now, I'm sticking with this one to create
the bone's eye shape. I want this layer
to be more pale. Now I'm going to try
using the beige. I think this colour combination
is turning out beautiful. Red and beige. Se autumnal. Next, I'm going
to use this water down brown to keep it
nice and delicate. To remove the excess paint, I use a paper towel. I'm trying to keep
the same space in all the sides of the bone's eye to keep it centered
and balanced. Now I'll use another shade that will let even more depths. I'm placing the leaves randomly on each side. No rules here. Now, I'll use this darker
red, adding another layer, painting the leaves in
different directions to give a sense of movement and make the bones even more graceful. So I've got the lighter tones in the background and the darker
ones in the foreground. That's how you create depth. If the layer underneath
is still very wet, it's better to
wait for it to dry so the paint doesn't
bleed and create a blob. I think these shades
of red are gorgeous. Oh, and one thing to remember, watercolors always dry lighter
than they look when wet. So don't be afraid of using
more saturated paints. So I just go adding more
leaves here and there. There are no rules. It's all
about personal preferences. You can make your bonsai to
look denser or more empty. It's all about your creativity and you can stop whenever
you feel it's done. I want this one to
be really full. I think these colours turned
out absolutely beautiful. Now, we just have to
wait for it to dry. I think the leaf colors
turned out great. Comparing them to this
reference picture here, even the shape of the
leaves look really nice. I guess the autumn is very well represented
in my Bonsai tree. Now, let's paint the trunk. In the photo, we can
see it's light beige, a bit of green, some brown, and a touch of moss. Those are the colors
I'm going to use. I'll test them out on
my sketch paper first. I think this color
is too reddish. Let me try a darker
brown. I like it. I think it's looking good. So, I took the darker brown and added just a little
bit of black. I'll use this spot
here with the green, dissolve it a bit and blend it into the brown to
see how it looks. The paint is pretty watery, the color is soft, and I
think it's looking nice. I like this brown. I'll start fiding in the trunk and adding some branches
between the leaves. Now, I'll add more black
to the brown to make it darker and create some patches while the paint is still wet. This way, the colors will blend together and create
a soft contrast. Look at how it's
already changing. I keep adding more
branches between the leaves and adjusting
the color little by little, creating lighter
and darker spots. I want the trunk to
have some marks, so it will have that
aged and old tree look. And I continue adding little branches
between the leaves. And to lighten the paint a bit, we can just use a dry brush. It will absorb the
paint from the paper, creating lighter
spots and helping you to adjust the shades
until it looks just right. I'm going to create
the moss color by mixing a bit of emerald
green with a darker green. Honestly, just use
whatever greens you have. Light green, dark
green, it's all good. I'm adding a moss here
on the trunk now. It's the cutest
detail. I love it. Okay, time to paint the tray. Again, I will test out
some colors first. Light blue, dark blue. Oh, this one is really nice. Big grey. Okay, let's see the
colors on the bone's eye. I like the blue shades
more. So blue it is. I'm going to wet the paper
a bit with a thin layer of water and then apply
the light blue paint. It will blend it to the water, making the color look more. And I'm keeping a white
space for the moss. Now, I want to light and bite
the color with a dry brush. And carefully, I'll
start painting the moss. I'll start with the light green, being extra careful
not to mix it with the blue from the
tray, which isn't dry yet. Then I'll bring the
moss up onto the trunk. Next, I'll use a
darker green to create a darker part on the moss to
add some contrast and depth. I'm gently tapping the tip of the brush to create
some texture. S. And I'm adding some paint on the sides, too. I'm using a more saturated paint with less water to
make it really darker. Now that the glue paint is dry, I can paint over it. So the moss looks like
spilling over the edges. It looks so much nicer
and natural that way. Mm, accidents happen. Some paint splatter
on the paper. So I'll just add a
drop of water and pressure it with a paper
towel to absorb the paint. If I act quickly, it
usually works well. I want to create a shaded
area on the side of the tray, so I'm going to paint
it with a darker blue and blend the paint into
the lighter blue as I go. As I'm applying a watery paint over a paint that
is already dry, probably create a stain
here, and it's okay. I love it. I think it's
going to look beautiful. I'll add a few more leaves in some areas to fill it
out a little bit more. But this is totally up
to you. No rules here. If you feel that your
painting is already looking fabulous,
then it's perfect. I want to add some shadow
to the moss with a very dark green at the bottom to give it even more contrast and depth. I think this will make the
moss stand out even more. Sometimes, to make a light
colour shade pop out, we use a dark color
right next to it. It really makes the
lighter color shine. It's such a simple
and great technique. I'll do the same
thing with the trunk. Adding a darker brown
to create some marks, giving it a more textured look. Now that the trunk is dry, I can do this without
the risk of the paint to blend or dissolve into
the previous paint. I'm using a very
saturated paint, so it will look really dark. And I feel like adding a few more small branches
between the leaves. I think it looks
much prettier and more complete now,
more graceful, let's say, This is a free and intuitive
painting process. So you can always stop when
you feel it's the right time. I'm painting these branches
with a lot of care using just a tip of the brush to
make them thin and delicate. This might not seem
much important, but these little details
make a big difference. I think now I am happy
with the elements, the leaves, the trunk, the moss, the shadows. I can finally stop here. Yeah, the bullseye finish.
8. Framing the painting: Alright, the bons eye
painting is finished, and this part of the class is totally optional,
a little bonus. I decided to frame the
painting to decorate my home, and I think it turned out
so cute and delicate. It's totally worth it. Frame I used measures
24 by 24 centimeters, and I bought it
this lovely shop, so strain granny about $7. I really love that it's
made of natural wood. It goes perfectly
with the bonsai vibe. This dark background paper
didn't come with the frame, so I customized it using a cover of atriize watercolor paper pad. I'll show you now
exactly how I did. Okay, so I'm going to open it. Okay, so let's open
this this frame, removing this back part. So here, there is this white
paper that I can use also. I can use this back side of
the paper to put my painting, but I don't think
it will highlight a lot my painting because
it's like, white on white. So okay, let's see. It's already beautiful,
but I think that, as I said, during the class, I think that sometimes for
highlight light color, we just need to use
a darker color. So we'll see the
difference here now. This is a cover of an a tree size watercolor
paper that I'm going to use as a pass pacto
in my painting. So this is how it's
going to look like, more or less once it is ready. I think I like this
combination much more. Okay, so how do you do this? First, I'm going to cut this
part in to fit in the frame. It's better to use
this printed side not to ruin the white side, maybe I can use it later. So I can use the
scissors or the cutter, but the scissors is
easier here on my hand. Now I will place this
square paper here, and I have to center
it very carefully. Here I have 24 centimeters and my tiny paper
is 14 centimeters. I have to have 5
centimeters on each side. I'm going to mark it now, make a marking on the paper. This is what I'm doing mark
5 centimeters on each side. Hmm. I should be doing, actually, the marks
on this side. So this side is going
to be on the back. Okay, so now I'm going
to mark 5 centimeters on each side with this drollerFive
and again, five here. I have to mark twice so
that I can make a line. Okay. And I'll do it again here and
repeat it on the four side. Okay. Now I have 14
by 14 size square, but I need actually a smaller opening here because I need this paper to
overlap this one. So I will do another line, make another line here, more or less 5 millimeters. This is enough. So
to be a bit smaller. Okay. Now I'm going to use the cutter because
it's better for cutting this part inside. So I prefer to use
this transparent ruler here so I can see better
what's happening. Be careful when
you're doing this. All right. And it looks nice. So I'm going to place the glass back
here in the frame, okay? I'm going to place my passpt at least this is the name
that I know for this part. It looks like it's not
fitting very well. Maybe I have to make
some adjustments. It's part of the game. So I'm just going to cut like
1 millimeter on each side. Tiny, tiny. Not so precise here. Hope it will work.
Yeah. Looks perfect. Okay. Now, let's place the painting, and I have these lines
here guiding me. So I just need to place it here, and then with the
magical masking tape, I will tape it here, so it won't move. Never. Do it just
like this also. And it's easier. I think it's enough. Okay. Oh, it's always
important to close the cutter always 'cause
it's really dangerous. Okay, just let me
check the position. Okay. And Okay. Oh, it looks so nice. Yes.
9. Final Thoughts: I want to thank you so much for following along
with my class. I hope you enjoyed it
and felt inspired to paint more Bn's eyes using the techniques
we covered today. I can't wait to
see your artwork. Don't forget to post it in
the class project gallery. And also, please leave a review. It's super important to me. This class was an
autumn Bonds eye, and it has inspired me to create a set representing
the four seasons. So follow me here to stay
updated on the new classes. Thank you so much, and I
hope to see you again soon.
Daniela Aschieri, Architect and Garden designer, Artist
