Two Masterpiece Bonsai Forests & an Inspired Imitation

This famous masterpiece Hinoki forest is by Masahiko Kimura and is one of his favorites. The photo is by Morten Albek (author of Shohin Bonsai). It appears in The Magician: The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2. Though comparisons are often odious (and unfair, especially when it’s with Kimura), still, older trees make for more interesting forests. In this case, Kimura’s hinokis (above and at the bottom) are not only mature, but also expertly styled; each one in accord with its size and position in the forest. Another distinctive feature on the Kimura forest above is the use of deadwood. It … Continue reading Two Masterpiece Bonsai Forests & an Inspired Imitation

Suburban Yamadori

This old Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) belongs to Mauro Stemberger. The color coordinated pot is by Petra Hahn (even the moss has reddish spots). I found the photo on The Art of Bonsai Project. We’ve been featuring Yews and carved deadwood a lot lately. An auspicious match, as you can readily see in the photos shown here. One of the great things about Yews is they grow almost everywhere. Half the landscapes here in the Eastern U.S. sport a yew or two. For some of us, it’s possible to find good ones for bonsai in our own front yards (suburban … Continue reading Suburban Yamadori

Juniper Bonsai Book Is Back!

Our famous Juniper book is back. Just in time for the gift season and for your winter bonsai study sessions. It has been thirteen months since we sold our last copy (number 5,000) of our Masters’ Series Juniper book. Too long really, but somehow time just slipped away. Anyway, we just got another 1,000 from the printer, so off we go. If you already own a copy, you can buy one for a friend (or, if you have more than one friend…). Rocky mountain juniper by Boon. From the gallery section of our Juniper book. Developing fine branching over … Continue reading Juniper Bonsai Book Is Back!

Only the Surface Waves

These three trees belong to Masahiko Kimura. I lifted (and cropped) this photo from El Tim Bonsai. It’s a Spanish language blog with an English language option. The Tim. I have long admired the great photos and great dedication to bonsai expressed on the El Tim Bonsai blog (the original Spanish language version and an English language version). The photos shown here are from El Tim’s visit to Masahiko Kimura’s nursery on a recent Japan trip. They are the tip of the Kimura iceberg and only the surface waves on El Tim’s vast ocean of great bonsai photos. If … Continue reading Only the Surface Waves

Unlocking Valuable Bonsai Wisdom

This remarkable Satsuki azalea belongs to Teunis Jan Klein. It’s not very often you see a cascade with such a long reach. What’s more remarkable is the mass of flowers around the tip, which seems to be as strong as the crown. That much strength so much lower than the base is no mean feat. This photo is from Hans Van Meer’s blog. It was taken at the 7th Het Westen Bonsai Show in Delft. The photo above is to grab your attention. Now that we’ve succeeded in that, we’d like to help unlock some valuable bonsai wisdom (borrowed from … Continue reading Unlocking Valuable Bonsai Wisdom

Bonsai Art: Running Out of Superlatives

The day has barely started and I’m already running out of superlatives. I guess ‘spectacular’ will do in this case. It’s a Korean hornbeam (Carpinus turczaninowii) by Ian Stewartson. The photo is from Bonsai Art’s website. Getting ready for another cross country hop (west to east this time), so to save time we’ll pull something out of our archival hat once again. This one originally appeared March 2013. Bonsai Art magazine is very well named. As bonsai magazines go, it is as well-done, beautiful and professional as they come (taking nothing away from International Bonsai Magazine and several other good … Continue reading Bonsai Art: Running Out of Superlatives

Semi Cascade Not Windswept

After by Kimura (aka the Magician). This photo is from a chapter in our Masters’ Series Pine Book titled Masahiko Kimura Transforms A Semi-Cascade. The tree is a Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora). I’m at the tail end of a short vacation of sorts, so we’ll indulge in one more rerun before it’s back to work full time. This one originally appeared in August 2012. It was titled The Other Cascade: Before & After. The other cascade Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seem to me that, with the exception of Junipers (especially the ever present Procumbens nana) you … Continue reading Semi Cascade Not Windswept

An Outrageous Explosion

This perfect curlycue has to be among the all time greats when it comes to distinctive deadwood. The tree belongs to the very talented Minoru Akiyama. The photo appears just the way I found it, with the apex and most of the pot missing. The art of carving bonsai deadwood was popularized by Masahiko Kimura and his custom power tools back in the 80s and 90s. Now a couple decades later amazing deadwood (and not so amazing deadwood) is everywhere with more and more outrageously wild examples popping up. Though this explosion of jin and shari is not everyone’s cup … Continue reading An Outrageous Explosion

A Remarkable Transformaton by a Bonsai Artist Not Named Kimura

We don’t usually feature such grainy shots for our lead photo, but this is the best we could find of this remarkable tree (plus we blew it up to fit our format). It’s an ‘after’ photo of a Kishu shimpaku juniper by Steve Tolley. When I first saw the before and after shots of this remarkable Kishu shimpaku, Master Kimura’s revolutionary transformations immediately came to mind (some examples of Kimura’s transformations are here, here and here). I won’t say much more; we’ll let the photos and Steve Tolley’s text (below) do the talking. Before. Here’s some of what Steve Tolley … Continue reading A Remarkable Transformaton by a Bonsai Artist Not Named Kimura

Twisted & Otherwise Abused

Man made twisting. This little Shimpaku juniper was grown (in Japan) and shaped by human hands. Whoever grew it did a great job at creating a natural effect – it’s almost impossible to mimic the raw and rugged look that nature sometimes comes up with after hundreds of years of stressful conditions. The final styling was done by Masahiko Kimura. You can find this photo and the chapter that shows Kimura shaping this tree in The Magician, the Bonsai Art of Kimura 2. The following photos are from a post titled Creating Twisted Juniper on a blog that I happily … Continue reading Twisted & Otherwise Abused