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    The joint ring is painted with one of the basic strokes, only shortened and turned sideways. The shape looks like the vertical hook.

1. Load the small brush with dark mix and hold your hand in position #1.
2. Press the tip of the brush up and to the left, stop, drag your arm down very slightly, swing to the right 1 inch, stop, and press and lift quickly upward, making a small hook.
3. Practice the joint ring stroke many times.
    The joint ring is an important stroke and must fit into the space between the two stalk sections. Learn to make this stroke in many sizes to fit different size stalk sections.

    Painting Branches
    The small branches that hold the leaves grow off the joint area. They grow on opposite sides up the stalk, first one side and then the other. It helps to know where the leaf clusters will be placed before painting in the branches.
    As shown in the examples here, very small branches can be painted with simple strokes of the small brush. Other branches can be made with the bone stroke and the tip of the brush to show the joints in the branches.
    The rule is to have no more than two branches coming from the same joint. The branches grow off only one side of a joint. The side changes from one joint to the next. For example, the stalk here has branches on the right side for the lower joint and branches on the left side for the upper joint.

    Painting Leaves
    Bamboo leaves are very important in a painting. The viewer notices them first because they are so dark.
    Leaf Patterns
    The patterns of bamboo leaf clusters have been studied and copied for centuries.
    Clusters usually have three, four, or five leaves, but near the top of the stalk they may have only one or two leaves. Usually, one leaf is larger. It is called the “host,” and the smaller leaves around it are called “guests.”

    In every pattern, each leaf points in a different direction. The leaves connect to the same branch and fan out from that point. In the painting below, notice how the leaves point in different directions. Never paint all the leaves in one direction or make them the same size or length.

    The bamboo leaf is similar to the shape of the orchid petal, only a little fatter and evenly balanced on each side of the center vein.

    The widest part of the leaf stroke is made after it touches the paper, just before lifting the brush. Leaf ends should always be straight and pointed. This happens better when you take a breath before the stroke and let it out as the stroke finishes.
    Painting a Leaf
1. Practice first using your finger instead of the brush. Touch your finger to the paper, press, drag slightly and slowly, and lift it little by little, keeping the tip of the finger in the center of the stroke.
2. Load the large brush in the dark mix, rolling it forward and back in the dish so that all the hairs have paint. Tap off the excess and hold your hand in position #1.
3. Touch the brush tip to the paper, TAB, drag slightly, press, lift little by little, LOB and make a point.
4. Practice this many times until the stroke is balanced with a straight point, keeping the tip of the brush in the center.
    Painting Leaf Clusters
    Now that you have the feel of the brush for a straight stroke, try making strokes going left and right, as in the examples below.
    After you can make strokes right and left, plan the leaves to make a cluster. No two leaves should be exactly the same size or point in the same direction. The spaces between the leaves should also be different. The sequence for placing the leaves is the same as in calligraphy: Do the center, then the left, then the right, then left and right again.

1. Load the large brush and tap off the excess.

2. Stroke 1. Touch the brush near the center of the leaf area of the painting, press, drag, and lift little by little, moving slightly to the right so the stroke will not be vertical. This is the host leaf, the largest one in the cluster.

3. Stroke 2. Make a second, smaller stroke toward the