Forest Bonsai – Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

I stumbled across the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others. Continuing with our multiple trunk theme (yesterday was Clump style, today is forests) and with Walter Pall (day before yesterday), we’ll go back in time once again to a post that originally appeared in 2014. (we’ve added a photo and a little more text). I think it’s one of our best on forests, and worth another look. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a whole lot less interesting. With the dominant tree … Continue reading Forest Bonsai – Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

Forests Again – Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

I stumbled across the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulas) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog. The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others. Continuing with our forest theme, we’ll go back in time once again to a post that originally appeared about 17 months ago (we’ve added a photo and a little more text). I think it’s one of our best on forests, and worth another look. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a whole lot less interesting. With the dominant tree the planting has a focal point, balance, scale, … Continue reading Forests Again – Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

A Four Course Bonsai Feast

Old Rosemary plants abound in Europe, so you’d expect to see some pretty good Rosemary bonsai and this semi-cacade certainly qualifies. It doesn’t hurt that it’s in a very cool pot. All the photos in this post are from old issues of Bonsai Today. They have all appeared here before, back in 2010 in a post called A Moveable Feast European Style. It’s a long story, but none were attributed then and none are attributed now. My apologies to the artists. All four trees shown here are from Europe and originally appeared in Bonsai Today issue 85. This twisty … Continue reading A Four Course Bonsai Feast

Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…

I stumbled across the European hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) by Walter Pall on his Bonsai Adventures blog . The shot looks like spring with some trees lagging behind others. Without the dominant tree this forest planting by Walter Pall would be a whole lot less interesting. With the dominant tree the planting has a focal point, balance, scale, a feeling of age and that more elusive quality we call interest, or beauty. Focal point. Everything organizes around the dominant tree. In other words, your eye goes there first and from that point the rest of the planting falls into place. Balance. … Continue reading Focal Point, Balance, Scale, Age & That Elusive Quality…