Out of Thin Air

Robert Steven’s simulation of a tree that was submitted by David Royinsyah (below). Busy now, so once again we’ll borrow from the past (Robert Steven Transforms Raw Stock, March, 2011). It’s one of dozens of Robert Steven’s critiques that we’ve posted over the years and it’s one of my favorites. The transformation is total, almost as if Robert pulled his simulation out of thin air. And the result is so pleasing. Nuff said, here’s the original… Robert’s vision and artistry This one is quite unusual. The stock is totally raw and not that interesting. Robert simply manufactured all the branching … Continue reading Out of Thin Air

Deck the Bonsai

This is the same tree we showed last post, but all decked out this time. Though many Christmas trees have their charm and some are genuine works of art, still, this has to be one of the best I’ve ever seen. All three photos in this post are from Nacho Marin on facebook. Nacho Marin is not the first to turn a bonsai into a Christmas tree. He won’t be last either. But so far, he’s got to be one of the best. BTW: Nacho’s creative juices flow beyond styling and decorating bonsai, into other media. This includes several artistic … Continue reading Deck the Bonsai

Following Nacho

A fantastic, delightful and very unusual tree. I’ve seen about a million bonsai (photos actually), but never one quite like this. It belongs to Nacho Marin (he’s been here before). This photo and the one immediately below are from facebook. No name provided there, but fortunately, the third photo from his website comes with a name (I won’t spoil it for you). I’ve been following Nacho Marin for a while now. Mostly on facebook, but occasionally I visit his website (it’s great, but you need some patience). Anyway, I think Nacho’s bonsai are some of the most fascinating and unique … Continue reading Following Nacho

Choosing the Right Pot

As long as we’re on the topic of choosing, I chose this one as the lead photo because it’s the only one with clean pot. A distinct advantage. All the photos in this post are from Boon Manakitivipart’s facebook postings. I took the liberty of cropping all the photos in this post and combining some separate photos into single images. Which pot would you chose? The photos and the concept are courtesy of Boon Manakitivipart (aka Bonsai Boon) on facebook (here and here). Just in case you’re not in the loop, Boon is a highly respected American bonsai artist and … Continue reading Choosing the Right Pot

The Trend Only Gets More Outrageous

Snakes. From Estação Bonsai on Facebook. I couldn’t find any mention of the artist and even though I don’t like to show trees without attribution, just couldn’t pass this one up (there’s another from Estação, below). The old rules of bonsai, if they ever really existed, were broken as soon as they were made and the trend only gets more outrageous (in whatever sense you prefer: out·ra·geous: shockingly bad or excessive, wildly exaggerated or improbable, very bold, unusual, and startling). As you can see, this common Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) belongs to Harry Harrington (Harry on facebook and Harry’s famous … Continue reading The Trend Only Gets More Outrageous

Just in Case You Don’t Know Marco…

This remarkable bonsai is labeled Taiwanese juniper (Juniperus chinensis) in Marco Invernizzi’s gallery. The stock for this bonsai was most likely field grown in Taiwan along with thousands of others. BTW: Taiwanese junipers are sometimes confused with the native Squamata juniper which grow wild in the mountains of Taiwan (there’s more on this in this Bark post from February). It has been a few months since we visited Marco Invernizzi’s bonsai gallery. Just in case you don’t know Marco, he was one of Masahiko Kimura’s first apprentices and was also one of the first Western bonsai artists to become a … Continue reading Just in Case You Don’t Know Marco…

Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bed a little longer…

Japanese yew with one thin live vein and lots of great deadwood. From Mauro Stemberger’s Italian Dream website. Mauro Stemberger is something of force in European and world bonsai. He usually starts with excellent stock and ends with even better bonsai. This is not not the first time we’ve featured Mauro’s bonsai and it won’t be the last. For more, here’s Mauro’s website and here he is on facebook. In the artist’s own words… “Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bad a little longer…” The Snake. We’ve shown this famous Scot’s pine before, but … Continue reading Sun is shining on my bonsai, but I stay in bed a little longer…

Wild Trees & Massive Trunks

Substantial, to say the least. You’d expect a heavy pot with such a massive trunk, still, to my eye this particular pot seems to dominate the tree just a bit. From José Gómez del Río’s facebook photos. All of the photos in this post are from José Gómez del Río on facebook, and I assume all of the trees are his. Even though I like his wild and wonderful olive bonsai, I seem to be just a bit nit picky this morning. We’ll chalk it up to mild case of pre-Holiday stress. BTW: the original images were a little dark … Continue reading Wild Trees & Massive Trunks

Flying High with Suthin

After. By Suthin Sukosolvisit. Flying high. This one’s a first; a post from 35,000 feet. Ahh, the miracles… (which brings to mind a story by Louie C.K., but we’ll save that for another time). Revisiting an old friend, if just for a few moments. Just found these Suthin before and after photos on facebook (the during and close-up photos are from his website). It’s not the first time we’ve featured Suthin on Bark and it won’t be the last. It’s a simple before and after (over a one year time span) of a Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa). Before. You … Continue reading Flying High with Suthin

Running Out Of Superlatives

I’m running out of superlatives. How about ‘somewhere north of magnificent.’ My only question is; could the pot be a little bigger? By Hsieh, Shun-Chin. One of the problems with reheating old posts (like this one from three years ago: What’s with Taiwan? Min Hsuan Lo and Friends) is some of my writing then seems a little cringe worthy now. To me at least. So you’ll forgive me if I’ve done a little editing (like the previous post, let’s just call it value added). I picked this one to resurrect for a couple reasons. First, are the trees which are … Continue reading Running Out Of Superlatives