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

Windswept Deadwood?

Windswept deadwood? I don’t think I’ve ever seen deadwood quite like this. It’s those little spikes on the left that conjure wind or speed, but I think it must be something else. I wonder what natural forces would cause this. I like this tree. It’s over the top a bit, but real eye catcher and it’s easy to appreciate the work that went into it. Especially if you know just how hard Yew wood is. In this case it’s European yew (Taxus baccata). Sometimes called English yew, but considering that it grows over much of Europe and into western Asia, … Continue reading Windswept Deadwood?

Meandering Lines

This Myrtle (Myrtus communis) belongs to Andrea Albergo. The pot is by Greg Ceramics and the photo is by Harry Harrington. I chose it for the lead tree for several reasons; I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a Myrtle with such a massive trunk, deadwood on most non-conifers isn’t all that common (though becoming more common) and I like the loose abstract meandering lines of the deadwood and living veins. I can’t stop showing you Harry Harrington’s photos from the recent European Bonsai San Show in Saulieu, Burgundy, France. Short of Kokufu (and maybe one or two others) I can’t … Continue reading Meandering Lines

Focus on Bonsai

I found this rather unique tree in the gallery section of the Bonsai Focus website. There’s no mention of the artist or the variety, though I’m sure you can find this information in the hard copy of their magazine. I can’t make out the foliage all that well, but I’ll guess that it’s a Yew (Taxus baccata?). Bonsai Focus magazine lives on the cutting edge (no pun intended) of contemporary bonsai and is among the most outstanding bonsai magazines anywhere. It’s a quick click to their website and a trip worth making. Once there, in addition to enjoying some very … Continue reading Focus on Bonsai

A Full Grown Man Sitting in a Bonsai Tree

It’s not that often you see a full grown man sitting in a bonsai tree (why doesn’t the tree fall over?). The caption and the photo are from BCI magazine. Marc Noelanders is an accomplished bonsai artist, though he’s probably best know for his annual Noelanders Trophy Bonsai Exhibition. We’ve featured trees from the Exhibition numerous times over the years, though I can’t find any of Marc’s that we’ve shown. I’d like to redress the situation, but too much to do today, so we’ll settle for the mind stopping photos above. Some other time we’ll do the research and show you … Continue reading A Full Grown Man Sitting in a Bonsai Tree

Evolution of Remarkable Bonsai

Harry Harrington’s latest iteration of his English yew. Here’s what Harry said about this tree three days ago: ” 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.” I’ve been watching the evolution of Harry Harrington’s bonsai for a long time now. In fact, one of our first posts is from Harry’s bonsai4me (March 2009). Now, almost seven years later we have the (you can supply your own adjectives) tree shown here. It’s an English (aka European) Yew (Taxus baccata). … Continue reading Evolution of Remarkable Bonsai

An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

Calligraphy anyone? I think this is the third time we’ve shown this astonishingly eccentric two headed monster, but it’s been about four years, which means many of you haven’t seen it, and I think everyone should have at least one chance. I don’t know its full history, but I do know that it appeared on The Art of Bonsai Project in a post titled The Bonsai of Mario Komsta, as did all the photos shown in this post. Yixing pot. Once again it’s time for Mario Komsta (Super Mario), one of Europe’s and the world’s new wave of younger bonsai … Continue reading An Astonishingly Eccentric Two Headed Monster

A Dilemma We’d All Like To Have

These two views of the same tree and the question posed (below) are from Tony Tickle’s website. The tree shown here belongs to Tony Tickle. It’s a Yew (the species isn’t mentioned, but I’m guessing English). You can find it on Tony’s Bonsai & Yamadori site under the heading Please choose your favorite ‘Front’ for this Yew. If you visit Bonsai & Yamadori you can vote for your favorite front (aka best view), and, if you’re really ambitious, you can explain yourself in the comments (you can do the same in our comments below). Meanwhile, I’ll keep my opinion to myself. … Continue reading A Dilemma We’d All Like To Have

Year End Loose Ends & Shameless Promotion

Just couldn’t resist posting yet another yew (there have been several lately). But, as you can see, it’s not just any yew. I found it here with this caption. Taxus Baccata (English yew) by Stefano Frisoni from Italy. Newsflash! I’ve been having a strange feeling that I’ve seen this tree somewhere before. Turns out it was right here on Bark 17 months ago. Oh well, this photo is much better. Shameless promotion There are three reasons why I spend so much time on Bonsai Bark. To spare you the boredom, I’ll skip the first two… the third is to promote … Continue reading Year End Loose Ends & Shameless Promotion