Autumn Maple leaf rock painting step by step

It was the crunching leaves that stopped us on our walk one day as the children had noticed the maple leaf matter in piles all over the path, they loved the sound as they kicked the leaves around and started picking them up and throwing them into the blowing wind. 

We looked closer and inspected the array of colours from bright green to deep red. Immediately I thought - that maple leaf looks exactly like “Autumn” wrapped up on one superbly coloured leaf. 

Further inspiration for painting some Maple art is that it is a symbol of strength and endurance, two qualities the nation has shown in our current climate.

Some species of maple are planted as ornamental trees and most species are used in the art of bonsai. In Japan, it’s a custom in autumn to see the changing color of maple’s leaves – in a similar way as they do in spring when cherries blossom. The reddish maple leaf symbol of autumn. Depending on the species, its leaves may turn from green to yellow, orange or reddish tones.

Step one: Tracing a leaf shape

Place a leaf onto your rock and use a 1mm white Life of Colour acrylic paint pen to trace around it.

Tracing around a shape is similar to using a stencil- don’t feel like you are cheating it’s simply an easy way to get your starting point accurate.

Step two:

The 3mm red paint marker is the first colour used to shade the outer edge of the leaf.

Add a few spots of water as you work the colour inward to smear it into the rock.

Step three:

Add an orange layer next in the same manner as the red but this time fill in the remaining area of the rock.

A brown 3mm Life of colour paint marker is used in small sections around the leaf to give the leaf an aged appearance.

Step four:

Using the Life of Colour 1mm red fine tip complete lines for the inner leaf and stalk, put a layer of fine tip brown over the top to complete the Maple leaf.

Step five: Choose a background colour

Yellow and green, gold, brown and glitter orange are just a few choices of background colours that would suit the Autumn theme.

We settled upon gold in the end to complete our Maple leaf rock and we think it is an absolute “keeper”.

It’s easy to purchase some of our Watercolour brush pens and acrylic paint pens at bargain prices available in Australia with free postage and New Zealand postage is only $6! Sending the symbol of strength and endurance to you all in the hour of need, we will get through this storm together!