It’s all about the deadwood (and the crown). Deadwood is sometimes overplayed, especially on Shimpaku. But even though the deadwood is dominant on this tree, the powerful and well constructed crown offers a good sense of balance. All three photos in this post are from Marco Invernizzi’s website.
I’m still on vacation, so we’ll make no pretense of in-depth analysis of deadwood this morning (not that we ever do much in-depth analysis of anything). Just three photos of Shimpaku from Marco Invernizzi’s website with a few quick comments and a little word from our sponsor.
Marco Invernizzi studied extensively with Salvatore Liporace for several years and then went to Japan and studied with Masahiko Kimura (almost 4 years worth). This ambitious desire to learn coupled with a fair dose of natural talent has resulted in some truly remarkable bonsai and a large following in the West (a good sense of showmanship and movie star handsomeness doesn’t hurt either – sorry, I don’t usually get into personalities and that kind of stuff… we’ll blame it on vacation).
This one is a little different. Here the deadwood not only adds character and age, it also enhances the live wood as it snakes its way up the trunk.
I like the aged bug-eaten look of the deadwood on this tree. For some reason, I immediately thought of the tree on the cover of Bonsai Today issue 2 when I first saw this one.
And now a word from our sponsor…
Marco’s (and Masakuni’s) amazing Ichiban, the multi-use bonsai tool. Now on special at Stone Lantern.
Isao Omachi using the part of the Ichiban blade that is designed for cutting wire.
Here’s part of what Isao Omachi has to say about his Ichiban: “Compared to a normal pair of bonsai scissors, these are light and comfortable in the hand; you barely have to raise your elbow. You can multitask with ease, cutting swiftly through branches and wire… In addition to Ichiban’s unique design and efficiency, any level of bonsai student can have fun using a pair…”