Bonsai Floating in Space

Floating in space. Is it just me or is there something strange about the lack of physical support in this photo? The photo also seems to lack depth which might contribute to the strange effect. Still, there’s something enchanting about the tree and the way it’s presented. Black backgrounds. We recently ran a post about choosing a background color with black backgrounds being a favorite of many of our readers. The photos in that post belong to Walter Pall who live in Europe (Germany). In this case the photos are from Viet Nam. I picked up the photos shown here … Continue reading Bonsai Floating in Space

Powerful Bonsai with Brilliant Deadwood

A great tree for a study in deadwood. It’s a Juniper procumben from Luis Vallejo’s website. I cropped the photo a bit, but you can see the full size original just below. I just spent the last digital hour or so wandering around Luis Vallejo’s Bonsai Studio (Estudio de Bonsai) and his Bonsai Museum (Museo del Bonsai). Sometimes it’s hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Without raving too much about what Luis has been up to, we’ll just encourage you to pay him a visit (his website and his fb photos). Given just how prolific Luis … Continue reading Powerful Bonsai with Brilliant Deadwood

Surayama – Shimpaku, Spruce & Several Others

It’s a little surprising that there are so few good shots of bonsai in creative settings. Not that they don’t exist, just that they don’t exist in larger numbers. This one was borrowed from Peter Warren’s Surayama, as were all the photos in this post. We’re merging two themes from recent posts: Rosemary bonsai and Peter Warren’s bonsai. Only one Rosemary actually, but all the bonsai shown here are Peter’s. This is not the first time we’ve featured Peter Warren’s bonsai and, as we are fond of saying, won’t be the last. Peter is an accomplish bonsai artist and teacher … Continue reading Surayama – Shimpaku, Spruce & Several Others

Back on His Feet – Isao Omachi Four Years Later

2015. Not only is Isao Omachi back on his feet, but it seems like he hasn’t missed a beat. This magnificent Shimpaku juniper is a pretty good example of what he’s been up to since the Tsunami (I don’t know who made the scroll, but it’s not so shabby either). I cropped the photo for a closer look at the tree and scroll. You can see the whole display below. It has been four years since the devastating Japanese Tsunami. Those of you who were following Bark, Bill Valavanis, Marco Invernizzi or others in our world bonsai community, remember Isao … Continue reading Back on His Feet – Isao Omachi Four Years Later

Deadwood, Bark and Other Bonsai Fragments

I’ve long been fascinated by close ups. Shots that provided details that you sometimes miss with regular bonsai photos. Especially deadwood and bark details. Maybe it’s because both deadwood and bark tell stories about time, and time (or at least the illusion of time) provides much of the beauty and mystery of the best bonsai. All the photos shown here are by Salvador De Los Reyes. I believe that all but one of these photos are of his trees (here and here are couple earlier Bark posts that feature Salvador’s bonsai). You can view more photos of Salvador’s bonsai on … Continue reading Deadwood, Bark and Other Bonsai Fragments

Flowering Bonsai – Some of Us Can Dream

Sabamiki and uro from the Omiya Bonsai Art Museum. Aside from this magnificent old Ume’s overall power and beauty, there are a several things that might catch your eye: the flowers and buds, the aged bark (Ume bark develops an aged look fairly fast) and the hollowed out trunk (sabamiki). If you look closely you can also see several uro (small hollows that are left on deciduous trees where branches have rotted and fallen off, though bonsai uro may well be man made). This winter to end all winters seems like a good (if a little perverse) time to look … Continue reading Flowering Bonsai – Some of Us Can Dream

With Buttonwood Bonsai, Nature Does the Real Work

This powerfully compact Buttonwood belongs to Nacho Marin, as do all four Buttonwood bonsai shown here. With Buttonwood bonsai it’s nature that does the real work. Humans find them, dig them, pot them and eliminate branches and other parts that distract from the natural beauty of the tree (ideally, at least). But nature does the twisting, turning and scouring by sand and wind that results in such unusual shapes and magnificent deadwood. I’m told* that much of this shaping and scouring happens during hurricanes and tropical storms. I’ve even heard that Buttonwoods are sometimes violently uprooted and blown to new … Continue reading With Buttonwood Bonsai, Nature Does the Real Work

Bonsai, Deadwood & Another World Series Win

Deadwood! Just before we originally featured this post (August 2012), we showed a couple of Serge Clemence’ bonsai in a post on deadwood. I guess the reason I didn’t include this Mugo pine in that post is because Serge has so many trees with powerful deadwood. Still…. Got excited about the SF Giants winning the world series last night and ended up sleeping until 9:00am this morning when I was shocked awake by a vicious horn blast from a truck delivering our 2015 calendars all the way from Japan (soil sieves –large & small – turntables and watering cans too). … Continue reading Bonsai, Deadwood & Another World Series Win

Bonsai Crazy

I love these close-up deadwood shots that let you see every little scar and sliver. The tree is a big Yew that belongs to Mark Fields. Here’s what Mark Fields has to say about this tree: “Uchi-San just finished up styling the big taxus. It took about 16 hours to complete. Ready for the big show now! We know the pot is too big for the tree. We will repot in spring.” Mark Fields is an American bonsai artist and owner of Bonsai By Fields in Greenwood Indiana. Uchi-San is Bonsai Crazy Uchi (we’ll devote a whole post to him … Continue reading Bonsai Crazy

Deadwood & Much More at North America’s Signature Bonsai Event

Going down? There’s a lot to love about this old tree: that little piece of wood that hangs over the edge of the pot, the remarkable texture and color of the bark and the way the powerful old trunk seems to cling to the pot. There’s also the fact that the tree is a Southwestern White Pine (Pinus strobiformis), not your everyday bonsai species. And then there’s that remarkable jin that seems to be unconcerned if it fits or doesn’t fit with the rest of the tree. The tree belong to Greg Brenden. The photo is from the 2010 2nd … Continue reading Deadwood & Much More at North America’s Signature Bonsai Event