PaulH
Omono
I think we're on the same page.
The point of my original post was to take issue with the implication that a naturalistic style is synonymous with a "chaotic" style. All of the rules and techniques we've spent years learning are needed and used to make a good natural looking bonsai. Art is most successful when the artifice is invisible.
We are still a long way from being able to be proud of "American Style Bonsai" as something unique. But I can see it happening. A key aspect, for me, of this American style is the use of natives in a natural (not chaotic) style. Just look at the Flat top Monterey cypresses of Kats Kinoshita, The wonderful, deadwood loaded redwoods many have made from trees collected by Mendocino Bonsai, The incredible, massive oaks by California artists like John Thompson or Gareth Shepherd. Few of these trees look like traditionally styled Japanese bonsai. But they've all got the "WOW!" effect.
The point of my original post was to take issue with the implication that a naturalistic style is synonymous with a "chaotic" style. All of the rules and techniques we've spent years learning are needed and used to make a good natural looking bonsai. Art is most successful when the artifice is invisible.
We are still a long way from being able to be proud of "American Style Bonsai" as something unique. But I can see it happening. A key aspect, for me, of this American style is the use of natives in a natural (not chaotic) style. Just look at the Flat top Monterey cypresses of Kats Kinoshita, The wonderful, deadwood loaded redwoods many have made from trees collected by Mendocino Bonsai, The incredible, massive oaks by California artists like John Thompson or Gareth Shepherd. Few of these trees look like traditionally styled Japanese bonsai. But they've all got the "WOW!" effect.