The secret to growing bonsai. A thread inspired by Bolero.

Adair M said:

I suppose in MichaelS's world, Michelangelo was not an artist. After all, David was inside that slab of marble all the time! All Michelangelo had to do was remove the parts of the slab that didn't look like David!

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choppychoppy said:

and some of my things some 'good' trees - some material looking to work to the future inspirations.

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MichaelS said:

My Nellie.
Firstly, yes these are (reasonably) attractive trees.
Secondly a little reality is in order. The truth is - believe it or not - is that the level of ''talent'' required to produce the above images is very slight. Certainly there is NO art involved in this process whatsoever.
Let me explain why.
These olives are collected. The trunk shape has zero to do with any person so that part - which is 90% of the image's visual imact - must be put out of mind completely. There is only a very limited number of suitable positions where this or any other collected trunk can be displayed to show it's greatest or most dramatic angle and features. So the positioning in the pot is more or less pre-determined by it's very shape. Now the green part. (the remaining 10% of the visual impact). If you observe enough bonsai, you will notice that the branch positioning and overall construction of the top in these trees is not only standard but below standard. The main braches which could be wired down ala ''Japanese Clipped Garden Style'', have been and from there all that has been performed is to come along from time to time and pinch out the new shoots.
Now, do you still think it requires a ''talented artist'' to achieve this? I'm not trying to single out any particular person. I don't need to because so many of the (probably thousands) of so called artists do exactly the same. Art has not even come close to here. These are a standard set of skills learned by most practitioners over time. How do I attach this wire? How far down should this branch go? Is there a back branch and a front branch for some depth? And we are completed. It's all monkey see monkey do stuff.
No talent and no art required. Just a bit of persistence until you learn the skills. So given the above facts, it's worth putting these trees into some perspective. There are way too many people getting around with the pretence of being artists with even more followers blowing their smoke. The art starts when you design a tree from the start with due consideration to each element and how that fits into a pre-conceived plan or vision. This is hardly ever done. Usually it's the tree which dictates and any future potential is done away with in the name of expediency.
The same can be said about most (not all) of peoples ''pinnacles'' of bonsai.
@Paradox, I would be interested to read your explanation as to why you consider those two trees so highly?

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Mellow Mullet said:

While scratching himself?

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LanceMac10 said:

Is that tree from Mr. Tickle, in fact, a Hawthorn?

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Anton W said:

Oops yes I just checked it, you are right. My bad!

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leatherback said:

Not going to answer. Working on my likeability

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Anthony said:

... ... [ apologies Alexandria, my brain forgets the names of the Great Greek
sculptiors]... ...

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