Exceptional Before & After Bonsai

This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and though the deadwood is prominent, it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees. But perhaps the best of all are are the brilliant living veins and the way they stand out against the deadwood Island hopping today, so to save precious time, we’re going to rerun a post on one of my favorite trees. This before and after is more about refinement than styling rough stock. Less daunting perhaps, but only someone skilled in the … Continue reading Exceptional Before & After Bonsai

Before & After Scots Pine – The trunk provided a good start, but the rest sorely needed Harry’s help

Before and after of a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) by Harry Harrington. The trunk provided a good start, but the rest sorely needed Harry’s help Harry Harrington has long been one of our main sources for good bonsai material (for good bonsai books too). Though there is room for a number of approaches to styling and refining bonsai, I like the rugged natural style expressed in this little Scots pine. It’s a hallmark of many of Harry’s trees, though he sometimes drifts into a more highly stylized, but equally impressive look. Especially with some of his carving (take a look at the English … Continue reading Before & After Scots Pine – The trunk provided a good start, but the rest sorely needed Harry’s help

Bonsai Today & Deadwood Carvers Extraordinaire

Every time I open Bonsai Today issue 106 and lay my eyes on this wickedly powerful old English yew, my mind does a little double take. Like many stylized bonsai that we’ve seen over the last 30 years or so, it doesn’t look exactly like anything you’ll see in nature, but it certainly jumps off the page. It’s by Kevin Willson, bonsai artist and deadwood carver extraordinaire. Photo by Simon Carr. Today, I set out to put together a post on Harry Harrington, but got distracted by the Kevin Willson tree above. There’s a method to this madness; Harry has … Continue reading Bonsai Today & Deadwood Carvers Extraordinaire

Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

I cropped the original (below) to get a closeup of this rather impressive deadwood. Even though there is no variety listed, the fresh buds look a lot like a Yew in full spring glory. All the trees shown here were posted by Luis Vallejo. Because Luis is a highly accomplish and prolific bonsai artist, we can assume they are all his (unfortunately, and due primarily to laziness, facebook and other online sites are rife with unattributed bonsai). Conitnued below… Our great sale on 500 gram rolls of Bonsai Aesthetics Wire ends tonight 30% off 2+ rolls of 500 gram Bonsai … Continue reading Impressive Nebari, Wild Deadwood, and a Colossal Wire Sale Ends Tonight

Powerful Shari, Brilliant Pot & Upside Down Maple

This old Taxus Baccata (English yew) is dominated by its powerful shari (trunk deadwood) The artist is Stefano Frisoni of Italy. On the road again today, so we’ll take the easy way out. The photos shown here are from a post we did in December, 2015. Continued below… NEW SALE 25% off our large selection of Bonsai Fertilizer well fed bonsai are healthy bonsai plus 10% off orders 100.00 or more and FREE Shipping on U.S. orders 50.00 or more Nice tree. Brilliant pot! Eleven years from stump by Mario Komsta (a regular here on Bark). It’s a Silverberry … Continue reading Powerful Shari, Brilliant Pot & Upside Down Maple

New Year, New Bonsai Book

Cross polanization and innovation. I don’t think you’ll see many bonsai quite like this one. It exists at the cutting edge (unintended) of bonsai. This creative innovation is due, at least in part, to travel and the internet. Ideas and technique bounce around the globe at light speed. The cutting edge artist in this case is Harry Harrington. The tree is a yew that we originally posted in June of 2016, and even though it wasn’t that long ago, it’s worth another look. We’re celebrating the New Year with a ground breaking New Book. Stone Lantern’s North American edition of … Continue reading New Year, New Bonsai Book

‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

Here’s a great trunk shot of an old English yew (Taxus baccata) that belongs to Andres Alvarez. The pot is listed as Chinese, which most likely means it’s Yixing. This shot makes it look like a short muscular tree, but it’s actually quite tall. You’ll have to wait for tomorrow’s post or visit Harry Harrington’s site for a photo of the whole tree (the same goes for the other photos in this post). Yesterday’s post was devoted to Harry Harrington’s photos from the recent European Bonsai San Show. Today we’re going to continue with Harry’s photos from the show, only … Continue reading ‘Art Shots’ from the European Bonsai San Show

Harry Harrington’s Spectacular Bonsai

I’m pretty sure I’ve never seen a privet bonsai quite this spectacular. It belongs to Harry Harrington. We’ve featured it a couple times over the years, but this latest iteration takes it to another level. Here’s Harry’s caption… “So at last, here it is……..taken last night under lights, my Common Privet bonsai (Ligustrum ovalifolium), height 19″/48cm. In a handmade bonsai pot designed and built by Swedish potter Thor Holvila” Harry Harrington’s bonsai4me has long been one of our default websites when it comes to researching a wide range of bonsai and useful bonsai information. Harry also posts a steady stream … Continue reading Harry Harrington’s Spectacular Bonsai

It’s a stunningly gorgeous Vermont day and good sense dictates that it’s time to get out and work on our bonsai and pull some weeds in the garden, but first, take a look at this!

Harry Harrington’s latest iteration of his English yew. Here’s what Harry said about this tree : “Finally, work on my Taxus baccata/Yew bonsai completed with the branches wired and laid-out. Height 25″/61cm, trunkbase (inc root jin) 12″/30cm. Pot by Victor Harris of Erin Pottery.” It’s a stunningly gorgeous Vermont day and good sense dictates that it’s time to get out and work on our bonsai and pull some weeds in the garden. So rather than taking the time to put together a new post, I’m going to show you one of my favorites from our archives (last November). It’s titled … Continue reading It’s a stunningly gorgeous Vermont day and good sense dictates that it’s time to get out and work on our bonsai and pull some weeds in the garden, but first, take a look at this!

May You Enjoy a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year

Just couldn’t resist posting yet another yew (there have been several lately). This time it’s an English yew (Taxus Baccata) by Stefano Frisoni. It’s almost 2016 and there are countless loose ends to tie up, so we’ll dig up part of a December 2012 post with some trees that I particularly like. Meanwhile, may you and yours enjoy a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! And thank you for helping to make 2015 a happy bonsai year. Nice tree. Fantastic pot! Eleven years from stump by Mario Komsta (a regular here on Bark). I originally guessed that it was an Ilex and of course, I … Continue reading May You Enjoy a Happy, Healthy & Prosperous New Year