These delicious little trees (shohin bonsai) are all from Cliff Chong’s bonsai gallery. Cliff lives and practices the art of bonsai in Malaysia. We originally featured this impressive Shohin collection in July 2015. Two New Stone Lantern Sales 25% off Koyo Bonsai Tools (in addition to our ongoing 25% off Roshi Tool Sale) 25% off 500 gram rolls Bonsai Aesthetics Wire (comes to only 9.38 per roll) plus FREE Shipping U.S. orders 49.00 or more
Robert Steven’s simulation of a Pemphis acidula that was submitted by Nurul Fajri (the original photo is below). Would you like Robert Steven, renowned bonsai artist, teacher and author to critique one of your bonsai? For free? Just email me a photo and we’ll take it from there. We first featured the critique shown here back in November, 2013. The tree is so exceptional that it’s worth another look. When I opened my email from Robert Steven and glanced at the before photo (below), I thought it was the after photo. But only for a moment. It’s the pot that … Continue reading Another Outstanding Bonsai Critique by Robert Steven
A little fuzzy when blown up to fit our format, but still… Both the brilliant tree and the equally brilliant photo come to us via Mark Arpag. The original is below. We don’t usually do one tree posts, but it’s already 11am and I’m still trying to catch up from vacation. Not that we ever really catch up, but hope still springs… The original. From Mark Arpag’s facebook feed. He doesn’t say what it is, but my best guess is needle juniper. 25% off Koyo Japanese Bonsai Tool Sale Plus Bonsai Wire and Bonsai Today Sales FREE Shipping on … Continue reading Brilliant Bonsai, Brilliant Photo
This is the first and only Fuchsia bonsai we’ve shown. Until now, that is (see below). It’s from a post we did two years ago. We originally found it at Aus Bonsai. Tropical and semi-tropical flowering plants are common and abundant, though not all are suitable for bonsai. This has a lot to do with leaf size, as many have leaves that are too large for bonsai (you can reduce leaf size to some degree, but in most cases it’s best to start out with plants that have small leaves and short internodes). Two good warm climate flowering plants that … Continue reading Flowering Bonsai & some other Good News
This simple and graceful old tree belongs to Ryan Neil (Bonsai Mirai). Here’s what Ryan’s caption says about it: “Lodgepole Pine. Pinus contorta latifolia. Collected in 2009 from a lava flow in the Cascade Mountains. Rapidly becoming one of Mirai’s favorites!” Interesting how the trunk looks kinda like a lava flow. I have no idea why Lodgepole pine bonsai are so rare, but they are. In the entire history of Bonsai Bark (almost seven years and several thousand bonsai) we have shown only three. Counting the three shown here (we’ve shown the one at the bottom before). Which is to … Continue reading Lava Flow Bonsai
This has to be one of the most compelling bonsai I’ve seen in a while. It has that wild, not overly refined look and ‘just so’ deadwood (it’s not dominated by deadwood like so many trees). But the real deal is the trunk. When was the last time you saw a trunk with so much power and character? This before and after is more about refinement than styling rough stock. Less daunting perhaps, but only someone skilled in the art of bonsai can do what you see here. In this case, that someone is Gabriel Romero Aguade (Bonsai Sant-boi) (this … Continue reading One of the Most Compelling Bonsai
Aggression. Everything is moving to the left. The deadwood, which is so dominant appears to be in full attack mode, while the crown and living branches provide some contrast (speaking of contrasts, you might notice the piece of wood pushing a piece of the trunk up and the wire pulling another piece down). Whether you like this tree or not, my guess is you’ll remember it. I found these photos here. Due to the language I don’t know much beyond that. Feel free to do your own research (you could start with the face below). The long needles and … Continue reading Full Attack Mode
Sweet tree, nice pot and brilliant fall color. But do you know what kind of tree it is? Mark Arpag (it’s his tree) doesn’t say, but based on the leaves and the bark, I’m going with Chinese elm. If I’m right, this is tree is quite small (Chinese elm leaves are tiny). One thing I like about Mark Arpag’s bonsai is that they are so accessible. Unlike many of Kimura’s most phenomenal bonsai for example, or the monster first prize tree at the recent Artisans Cup, ordinary bonsai enthusiasts might imagine styling trees like Mark’s. This is not say Mark’s … Continue reading Subtle yet Simple
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
A small sampling of our large selection of Koyo Japanese Bonsai Tools. Now 10% off for 1-2 and 20% off for 3 or more. Plus you get an extra 10% off for any orders of 100.00 or more (all products count towards this discount) A small sampling of our large selection of Bonsai Aesthetics Tools. Now 20% off for 1-4 tools and 30% off for 5 or more. Plus you get an extra 10% off for any orders of 100.00 or more (all products count towards this discount) 20% off 1-4 30% off 5 or more Bonsai Aesthetics Tools 10% … Continue reading Bonsai Tool Sale – Up to 37% Off