Bonsai Photos: from Black & White to Colorized and Back

You can find the color version of this Japanese white pine on the cover of our Masters’ Series Pine book. The black and white version is the same image with the color photoshopped out. Though the B&W version does have it qualities, the vivid pot color and the robust green foliage provide a strong argument for shooting bonsai in color. This post is a composite of two posts from 2012 with some thoughts added today. The attempt is to contrast B&W bonsai photos with color bonsai photos. There are four types of photos here. Black and white photos. Color photos. … Continue reading Bonsai Photos: from Black & White to Colorized and Back

Remarkable Bonsai, Questionable Habits & Dubious Appetites

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of exquisite bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. We don’t normally resurrect posts from just a few months ago, but there’s a method to our madness. Part of this is method is simply continuing to present the best bonsai we can find for your enjoyment. The other part is… You might want to fast forward this paragraph … we have to satisfy our sponsor with his questionable habits and dubious appetites. For this and other more practical reasons, we like to stimulate your appetite for … Continue reading Remarkable Bonsai, Questionable Habits & Dubious Appetites

Bonsai Train, Deadwood in Deadwood, How-to Tips

Vive bonsai! Ever wonder why European bonsai events are so well attended? Thanks to Rosade Bonsai for this great photo. It’s an archival day. It has been way too wet lately, and now the clouds have blown away and the sun is beckoning. Only a fool would spend the day in the office if he didn’t have too. This post is from 2012. I love the train and rest is pretty good too. Deadwood in Deadwood. If you’re ever near Deadwood South Dakota, visit Andy Smith at Golden Arrow Bonsai. Andy is known for his yamadori bonsai (bonsai collected … Continue reading Bonsai Train, Deadwood in Deadwood, How-to Tips

A Multitude of Remarkable Bonsai Photos from Our Remarkable Bonsai Books (Book Sale Ends Tonight)

This luscious Satsuki azalea is one of a multitude of remarkable bonsai photos from the very aptly named, Fine Bonsai, Art and Nature. There’s a theme to this large gallery and a method to our madness. All the photos are from bonsai books that we sell and all our books are currently on sale at Stone Lantern. However, today is the last day of the sale. It ends at 11:59pm EST tonight, Wednesday, February 4th, 2015. You can find this somewhat unruly and very distinctive apple bonsai on the back cover of Nick Lenz’ landmark book on collecting, Bonsai … Continue reading A Multitude of Remarkable Bonsai Photos from Our Remarkable Bonsai Books (Book Sale Ends Tonight)

It’s Later Now – More Taikan-ten Bonsai

A Shimpaku juniper from the 34th Taikan-ten Bonsai Exhibition. The photo is from Michael Bonsai (on facebook) as are all the photos shown here. It’s later (than you think). A few days ago we put up a post titled Taiken-ten Bonsai, Some Pines First, More Later. Now it’s later. So here they are, as promised. I’m going to go ahead and guess the varieties. Not because I’m brave (or foolish, though you could take issue) but because these look pretty easy. Looks like a Japanese white pine. Ume (AKA Prunus mume, AKA Japanese apricot). The bark is a … Continue reading It’s Later Now – More Taikan-ten Bonsai

A Pencil and Paper, and a Desire to Improve Your Eye for Bonsai Design

Rococo bonsai. If you decide to try your hand at drawing bonsai, my guess is that the results won’t look a lot like this. We’ve featured this illustration by Ruben Roig at least twice (here and here), but it’s been a long time and Ruben’s skills are exceptional, so it’s worth another look. Consider this post an encouragement for you to try your hand at drawing bonsai (that’s three in row for those of you who love the English language). Or lacking that, you can simply enjoy these illustrations by people who excel at the art of drawing bonsai. There … Continue reading A Pencil and Paper, and a Desire to Improve Your Eye for Bonsai Design

Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

I just repotted this old pine into our new Masters Bonsai Soil. The pot is a growing pot rather than a show pot, but will serve nicely for now (pines like deep pots). The tree is a Japanese white pine that was grafted onto Japanese black pine stock in Japan. I got it from John Jaramillo last year when I was in Portland studying with Michael Hagedorn. Michael was kind enough to wire it for me. Our new Masters Bonsai Soil is now 20% off, so this seems like a good time to mention that I am in the process … Continue reading Transplanting Bonsai into Our Excellent New Masters Soil

Old Japanese Whites plus One

This distinctive Goyo-matsu (Japanese white pine) is from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. I don’t know if the split trunk was by the hand-of-man or the result of a natural occurrence. Either way, the twin trunk effect is wonderful. At the risk of stating the obvious, you might notice the similar movement and direction of the each trunk’s twists and turns. We’re digging back into our archives once again and we’re always looking for catchy titles, even when it’s a bit of a stretch. All the trees shown here are from two earlier Bark posts. The plus one in the … Continue reading Old Japanese Whites plus One

Upcoming Bonsai Events & Big Summer Book Sale Ends Soon

An example of Francois Jeker’s styling and deadwood carving. Francois is a headliner at the Eda Uchi Kai Bonsai-Ten 2013 (see below). He is also the author of Bonsai Aesthetics one and two. FREE ADVERTISING! Would you like to see your bonsai event featured here? If so, just send me a notice with a link to the event. That’s it. But remember, no link, no show. My email is wayne@stonelantern.com. You might also want to mention the event in the comments below. Big Summer Book Sale ends soon. 20% to 25% off all books. Don’t wait! Two classics, one old … Continue reading Upcoming Bonsai Events & Big Summer Book Sale Ends Soon

World Famous Masterpiece Bonsai

I like this tree. It has great movement and wild, wonderful deadwood that runs all the way up the trunk, plays peekaboo in the crown and then finishes with a flourish at the top. If you removed the hanging branch that reaches down almost to the base of the trunk, it would still be an interesting tree (even though the remaining crown would be an inverted bowl)… but with that branch and the aforementioned deadwood, the tree is elevated to bonsai masterpiece. If you don’t believe me, you can check out Takahashi Iura’s facebook page, where it says: “My important … Continue reading World Famous Masterpiece Bonsai