Bonsai Stick Figures with special guest Rick Martin

M. Frary

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Being a Gun Guy here is one you might like
You call that piece of jewelry a gun?
Did your mom leave that to you in her will?
i think of you Mike..
Odd.
I didn't know sheeple thought only followed.
But now I know, it isn't a surprise that I'm the person you think of.
 

Vance Wood

Lord Mugo
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Not that anything I can say at this point will be of any note or long thought about, the stick figure philosophy is not totally plebeian or crude lacking class. If you take time to analyze some of the great pieces of musical art such as Beethoven's 5th you will find the entire symphony is bassed on a four note theme and all of the variations and developments of that original theme. Is bonsai similar? I say yes, prove me wrong.
 

Forsoothe!

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Stick figure art is helpful as a tool early in the design process to ascertain rough balance, especially in a tree with too many options: too many branches and/or too much foliage. While it may be easy enough to remember which branches you want to keep while looking at a single view, retaining that much data in your mind's eye as you rotate the tree and change the prospective of the prospective front, it is often too much to ask of our limited brains.

Being able to draw four sides and a plan view, then rip up one or all and start over again is an excellent option. It also forces you to choose and allows you to "glue that branch back on". Maybe, only those who have cut the wrong branch off enough times will appreciate Stick Figures.
 

Bolero

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Not that anything I can say at this point will be of any note or long thought about, the stick figure philosophy is not totally plebeian or crude lacking class. If you take time to analyze some of the great pieces of musical art such as Beethoven's 5th you will find the entire symphony is bassed on a four note theme and all of the variations and developments of that original theme. Is bonsai similar? I say yes, prove me wrong.

Assuming you are referring to Similarity re Beethoven's 5th composition and Bonsai stick drawing also depicting a similarity ????? I don't see that at all due to the many variation's of Bonsai, OTOH I know diddily about Music composition.
Is Bonsai similar, no not at all, as a comparison I would say Bonsai is more like going from a Soft String Trio to a Full Out KISS Concert...WDYT ?
 

DirkvanDreven

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Not that anything I can say at this point will be of any note or long thought about, the stick figure philosophy is not totally plebeian or crude lacking class. If you take time to analyze some of the great pieces of musical art such as Beethoven's 5th you will find the entire symphony is bassed on a four note theme and all of the variations and developments of that original theme. Is bonsai similar? I say yes, prove me wrong.
Rumour has it that Beethoven was very good at Bonsai to!
 

Djtommy

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Assuming you are referring to Similarity re Beethoven's 5th composition and Bonsai stick drawing also depicting a similarity ????? I don't see that at all due to the many variation's of Bonsai, OTOH I know diddily about Music composition.
Is Bonsai similar, no not at all, as a comparison I would say Bonsai is more like going from a Soft String Trio to a Full Out KISS Concert...WDYT ?
I believe Vance is referring to the fact that if you take all the complexcity away of a good music composition or a good bonsai you are left with something more simplified yet showing strong bones, good stick figure, good melody or maybe he meant that in the end bonsai can be reduced to lines and music to notes.
 
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Smoke

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I believe Vance is referring to the fact that if you take all the complexcity away of a good music composition or a good bonsai you are left with something more simplified yet showing strong bones, good stick figure, good melody or maybe he meant that in the end bonsai can be reduced to lines and music to notes.
That is it exactly.
 

Vance Wood

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That is it exactly.
That is correct. All endeavors in the arts can be broken down into the basics. If you look at Febonotchi sequence you will see that in can be broken down into fractil geometry where there seems to be a sequence where art and creation seems to speak to each other in a similar language. It starts in simplicity and becomes more complex as it grows and develops.
 

Just Rosie

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I have been researching bonsai for about a month now. Some of the information about the art and creating it seems almost hidden to me. One tidbit of information that has been eluding me is this: form, shape, balance. And you've really managed to take an obscure (to me) concept and explain it in a super user-friendly form. Thank you!
 

Woocash

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Fibonacci sequence
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 4181 6765 10946 etc

Just add the previous two numbers together to get the next.
 

Vance Wood

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Fibonacci sequence
0 1 1 2 3 5 8 13 21 34 55 89 144 233 377 610 987 1597 2584 4181 6765 10946 etc

Just add the previous two numbers together to get the next.
This also leads to this simple statment: What difference does this make. If you cannot understand the formation of the fibonacci sequence what good does it do you and how do you understand the developing of a bonsai design using the idea????????
 

sorce

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how do you understand the developing of a bonsai design using the idea????????

It's an unconscious use of the idea.

That we are the sequence ourselves.

I believe your approach to trees demonstrates this, becoming the creator of the time that the trees show.

Sorce
 

Forsoothe!

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While some of you may think you're proving you're smarter than the rest of us by introducing esoteric principles not commonly associated with hobby level artistry, some of us may remain unconvinced. Let's see some of you provide a follow-up photos of some of your own trees annotated with a Fibonacci grid. That would be instructive.
 

Woocash

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This also leads to this simple statment: What difference does this make. If you cannot understand the formation of the fibonacci sequence what good does it do you and how do you understand the developing of a bonsai design using the idea????????
You‘ve either got an eye for design or you haven’t is my view. The use of things such as the Fibonacci sequence or golden ratio are generally coincidental rather than intentional. It’s a good way to help visualise what has previously worked visually, as opposed to getting out your ruler and using that to determine a composition. I think most artists have this naturally inbuilt.
 
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