Surrealistic Bonsai 9/1/15

Robert Steven's simulation of a photo submitted by Wayan (see below).

Yesterday’s post was about art and the art of bonsai and today we’re down in Williamstown Mass catching Van Gogh at the Clark before he’s gone (how’s that for bonfides?). The upshot is, no time to put together a new post, so we dug up this Robert Steven critique from 2011. We renamed it Surrealistic Bonsai, an accidental allusion to art (post Van Gogh of course).

What a difference a pot makes
Though Robert doesn’t mention it in his critique (below), introducing a shallow pot, rather than the tree’s clunky and rather unattractive pot (also below), instantly transforms the whole tree. Nothing outside the box, just a simple change that does wonders for a bonsai.

Before. Submitted by Wayan.

In Robert’s own words
Although the trunk is very interesting, it is quite difficult to turn this tree into a design that ideally portrays a large mature tree. The stump is too bulky, so it is not easy to train the other physical elements to fit it in a proportional manner.Imagine the stump as a hill, and trees are growing here and there creating a unique composition.

Think out of the box! Make a rather “surrealistic” design…

Thanks to Pemphis which we can expect new shoots to easily grow, especially on the gnarled knots; then train every single shoot as a tree following natural phenomena as shown on the simulated picture below. The only tree to add separately is the one on the left bottom; or you can do without it if you prefer.

General comments
There is more than one way to design any bonsai and my critiques and recommended solutions might not always fit your taste and personal preferences, but I always try to give my opinion based on artistic and horticultural principles.

To understand my concepts better, please read my books Vision of My Soul (out of print) and Mission of Transformation which are available at Stone Lantern.

 

Robert's famous exploration of art and the art of bonsai