Dan Robinson bonsai artist

Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

This powerful Japanese white pine with its lush canopy that’s shaped like something you’d see on a deciduous tree, makes little attempt to appear like a pine in nature. Still, it’s hard to deny how the power of its trunk and the rich beauty of its canopy complement each other. I found it here. It looks like it’s part of a Japanese bonsai nursery, but I couldn’t find any verification. Still on vacation and still working. But just enough to edit (or eliminate) dated information and resize the images on this post from July 2012*.   This wild looking Hornbeam … Continue reading Random Shots & Gnarly Branches

Elandan, Beyond Bonsai

Just another great photo at Elandan Gardens, where water, earth and sky come together in one of the most brilliant bonsai backdrops you’ll ever see. Yesterday, it was Dan Robinson’s bonsai. Today it’s Dan and Diane Robinson’s exquisite Elandan Gardens. All the photos shown here are from Elandan’s website and Dan’s facebook feed.                       I don’t mean to spoil your Elandan experience with our crass commercialism, but this is how we keep our ship afloat… 15.50 per roll, Kilo Bonsai Wire Special ends tonight this price may be the best … Continue reading Elandan, Beyond Bonsai

Dan Robinson, Bonsai Pioneer

Close up of Dan Robinson’s Mountain hemlock, taken on my cell at the Artisans Cup. Last weekend I finally had the pleasure of meeting Dan and Diane Robinson. It was at the Artisans Cup so I also had the pleasure of viewing and photographing Dan’s entry, the Mountain hemlock shown here (above and below). We’ve been featuring Dan Robinson’s bonsai and we’ve been selling and enjoying Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees for a long time (the second printing of Will Hiltz’ brilliant book about Dan and his trees just came out). Now that I’ve met Dan and actually seen one of … Continue reading Dan Robinson, Bonsai Pioneer

Revisiting An Old & Still Relevant Bonsai Debate

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. I think it’s time to revisit a discussion that seems to provoke plenty of interest each time we bring it up (there were 35 comments to this post back in 2011 and numerous comments to previous posts on topic). It’s also timely given that Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is now back in print and Dan Robinson’s bonsai play a big part in the discussion. A note about Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees that I neglected to mention last post: By agreement with the publisher, … Continue reading Revisiting An Old & Still Relevant Bonsai Debate

Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is Back!

Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees: The Life and Works of Dan Robinson – Bonsai Pioneer is back in print! We’ve been waiting for this wonderful, ground breaking book to come back into print for a long time. Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is surely one of the most important and beautiful bonsai books ever published. Will Hiltz, author and photographer elevates the art of book making, and Dan Robinson, bonsai artist and master, elevates the art of collecting, growing and styling bonsai. Dan Robinson’s approach is uniquely his own and shows profound respect for trees, nature, art; the whole process that we … Continue reading Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees is Back!

Bonsai News Flash!

We featured this dramatic Sierra juniper here on Bark back in January. This time though, after a long journey from the wilds of the Sierra Nevadas to Ryan Neil’s Bonsai Mirai, it’s made the national bonsai news. We just got an email announcement from The Pacific Bonsai Museum: Here it is, almost word for word: “The Pacific Bonsai Museum proudly announces its first acquisition, a Sierra Juniper by rising bonsai artist Ryan Neil of St. Helens, Oregon. The acquisition was made possible by a generous gift from The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. Here’s a link to the press release for … Continue reading Bonsai News Flash!

Staying on Theme – New NABF Website

Japanese black pine by Dan Robinson. Dan is known for his dramatically wild collected trees from the American northwest (and Canadian far west). Obviously this Black pine doesn’t fall into that category, though a bit of that wild look is still there. It received a WBFF Certificate of Merit. We’ve been featuring new websites a lot lately so we might as well stay on theme. All the photos in this post are from the new North American Bonsai Federation (NABF) website. NABF is affiliated with the World Bonsai Friendship Federation (WBFF).. One of the things the WBFF is known for … Continue reading Staying on Theme – New NABF Website

Bonsai Globetrotting, Make Your Own Rock, A Wild & Wonderful Hornbeam, The World’s Most Amazing Garden

This powerful pine with its lush, full (almost yellow on my screen) canopy that’s shaped more like something you’d see on a deciduous tree (or a roof on an abstract pagoda), makes little attempt to appear like a pine in nature. Still, naturalistic or not, it’s hard to deny how the power of its trunk and the lush beauty of its canopy complement each other. I found it here on facebook. It looks like it’s part of a Japanese bonsai nursery, but I couldn’t find any verification.   Dan Robinson’s wild and wonderful Hornbeam resides at the Pacific Rim Bonsai … Continue reading Bonsai Globetrotting, Make Your Own Rock, A Wild & Wonderful Hornbeam, The World’s Most Amazing Garden

Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

Can you imagine the time needed to develop and maintain the numerous foliage clouds? Does this level of refinement exist outside of Japan? Needle juniper (J. rigida) by Shinji Suzuki. From our Masters’ Series Juniper book. Picking up where we left off Our last post provoked more discussion than any post so far. Roughly drawn, the topic is naturalistic bonsai versus highly stylized and highly refined bonsai. I thought it might be good to continue with examples that exist at the extremes, at least in my view. This Big cone Douglas fir by Dan Robinson  jumped out at me because … Continue reading Pushing the Bonsai Boundaries

That Old Argument Resurfaces

Hinoki cypress by Dan Robinson. From Gnarly Branches, Ancient Trees. An excellent example of a naturalistic bonsai. Judging from your comments… There are two ways we can gauge reader interest. One is by the number of visits to a particular post (our host keeps track for us), and the other is your comments. Judging from your comments, the discussion about the virtues of highly refined Japanese bonsai vs a more naturalistic western style (championed by Walter Pall among others) is a topic that at some of you are interested in. I count myself among this interested group. An impassioned comment … Continue reading That Old Argument Resurfaces