Would you please critique Foorsoothe!s' entry? So us amateurs can learn a thing or two about presenting our trees.
I will.
The overall silhouette of the forest is very pleasing. The foliage density is mostly well-balanced, but there are a few areas that are thin and still filling in. The placement of the trees creates some symmetrical negative space in the lower areas which is emphasized by the black background. In fact it has a gap dead-center, which is almost bolstered by the large feet of the pot. The trunks are relatively similar in size, and more variation would be good, though a young forest could have this representation.
The pot is visually too deep, and too shiny, with chunky feet. Forests should usually be displayed in a pot the conjures the forest floor; unglazed earth tones are good for this, so are stone slabs. The forest is tall and delicate and quiet, and the pot does not aid this image. It is also too small for this composition. Some negative space on the sides would give the composition room to breathe.
The moss job is distracting. It should be consistent from one side to the other, with subtle variations if necessary to support the Or connect the several groups of trees. I like the gray moss on the right side, but the taller red moss is clumpy and distracting, and is obscuring the trunks behind those several clumps.
The stand is also too deep and too chunky, and too light. The legs should be small, short, understated, and dark. This again helps convey a quiet feeling of a forest. it is also too small, as the pot barely fits on the stand. Stands usually have a center panel, within which the whole pot should fit. This puts a big chunky bright pot on top of a big chunky bright stand. Nobody is looking at the trees anymore.
There is no need to place the stand on top of a mat. However, if the mat is big enough to contain the stand and the accent, it could tie the composition together. As is, it separates the tree from the accent.
The accent plant is in another aqua oval pot. It is a nice little pot and would be ok if the trees were in a wide shallow unglazed oval, but good displays don’t duplicate elements this obviously. Repetition is rewarding to a viewer, but duplication is distracting. It is also perched on a stand that it barely fits on. As cool as it is, here a jita slab would be more appropriate. The plant itself seems to be a succulent of some type, which I would not associate with a forest floor. It doesn’t look that healthy either. Choose a plant that you would find with these larch forests. Maybe a fern, or some wild grasses and clover.
The accent should be spaced farther away from the tree, again for room to breathe. I see a slight left to right movement of the forest canopy, so I would place the accent to the right instead of to the left. To my eye, the forest has turned its back to the accent.
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