From Wild to Wild – Another Before & After Bonsai

After. This distinctive European spruce, aka Norway spruce (Picea abies) was collected in Switzerland in 1993. It’s now 25cm (10″) high and around 100 years old. The strikingly naturalistic pot (by Mateusz Grobeiny) and those little plants (succulents?) growing around the trunk and flowing down side of the pot add a strong natural touch. So natural that you might imagine stumbling upon the whole planting while hiking in the Alps. The artist and owner of the tree is Walter Pall. You can view the before and after together if you scroll down. Too much going on here today, so we’ll … Continue reading From Wild to Wild – Another Before & After Bonsai

A Natural Feel for Bonsai

I really like the natural untouched feel of this old Spruce. It brings to mind the rugged conifers of the high Sierras and Rockies. It’s a Norway spruce (Picea abies) by Walter Pall (from Bonsai Today issue 106). Yesterday’s post featured Walter Pall’s Bonsai, so let’s just keep going. This one is from the dawn of Bonsai Bark, July 2009. It was titled The Great Debate part 3: More from Walter. Now in 2017, the bonsai community has mostly moved on from the great debate (I don’t think it ever was a big deal anyway, but it does provide some insight … Continue reading A Natural Feel for Bonsai

Before & After – from Wild to Wild

Before and after. This distinctive European spruce, aka Norway spruce (Picea abies) was collected in Switzerland in 1993. It’s now 25cm high and around 100 years old. The pot (on the right) is by Mateusz Grobeiny. The artist and owner of the tree is Walter Pall. The before shot is actually an intermediate shot, taken well after the tree was collected and had been styled some. Now, though you can tell it’s the same tree, the transformation is radical and far from a highly stylized bonsai. Often with before and after shots, the progression is from wild with potential to … Continue reading Before & After – from Wild to Wild

The Godfather of Naturalistic Bonsai & Friends

We can assume this Azalea (I imagine it’s a Satsuki) belongs to one of the four exhibitors listed below. Actually, we might be able to narrow it down to one of three of the exhibitors (I couldn’t find it on Walter Pall’s website so, I’m assuming it is not his). The photos here are from a current Bonsai Exhibition at the Munich Botanical Garden. It ends June 1st, so you still have a little time. I originally saw the photos on Walter Pall’s facebook feed and then on his Bonsai blog. I couldn’t find any info of the individual trees … Continue reading The Godfather of Naturalistic Bonsai & Friends

Turning Some Cherished Notions on Their Heads

This Hawthorn in bloom is from Walter Pall’s Bonsai Adventures, as is the article below. The rest of the photos in this post are from Walter’s online gallery. Walter Pall, world famous bonsai artist and much more… We’ve feature Walter’s bonsai numerous times here on Bark (and in Bonsai Today) and will continue to feature them for as long as we continue posting. I won’t say much more, except that Walter produces quality trees by the hundreds (seemingly at least) and he also sometimes produces worthwhile and even provocative ideas about bonsai. What follows may be his most fascinating and … Continue reading Turning Some Cherished Notions on Their Heads

Revisting a Famous Tree

2012. Walter Pall’s now famous Scot’s pine as it appears in a recent post on his Bonsai Adventures blog. Actually, it appears in three different iterations in the post, starting with this one (rather than try to explain, you can see for yourself). Walter Pall’s naturalistic Scot’s pine When you hear the words bonsai and naturalistic in the same breath, you might envision someone finding a little tree growing in the wild, digging it up, doing a little trimming here and there, perhaps a bare minimum of wiring (perhaps none at all), sticking it in a pot, and voila, a … Continue reading Revisting a Famous Tree

That Old Argument Resurfaces

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. Judging from your comments… There are two ways we can gauge reader interest. One is by the number of visits to a particular post (our host keeps track for us), and the other is your comments. Judging from your comments, the discussion about the virtues of highly refined Japanese bonsai vs a more naturalistic western style (championed by Walter Pall among others) is a topic that at some of you are interested in. I count myself among this interested group. An impassioned comment … Continue reading That Old Argument Resurfaces

That Natural Look

This popped up on Bonsai Mania from a photo of Roelof Jansen van Vuuren’s. It caught me because of its light airy feel and natural look. A small cut or two? This sweet Japanese maple (var?) planting reminds me a bit of the Sugar maples on the edge of my property. Sometimes I imagine them small and then start making mental cuts. These trees have the same effect on me; I wouldn’t mind grabbing my scissors and making a small cut or two.  Especially on that long left branch on the tree on the right (I think I just disturbed … Continue reading That Natural Look

The Magician: After & Before

After. Pretty impressive, no? You’ll encounter very few bonsai that are both this powerful and this refined anywhere on this planet. In fact, I challenge you to find even one that rivals it (they do exist, but are oh so rare). Photo from Bonsai Today issue 59 (still available). Too refined? Masahiko Kimura has fallen out of favor with some people over the last few years. You might hear or see comments about how his bonsai is overly sculpted, overly refined, unnatural looking. For where I sit, it’s unfortunate when we feel we must take sides and pick either refined … Continue reading The Magician: After & Before