The idea came while trying to archive the thousands of images I have on my PC. As I was going through some of the images I thought to myself, I bet everyone will be checking back to see if I have posted the Scots Pine styling images. Not yet! So then I got the idea to post some stylings you may not have seen. These were all from 2-3 years ago.
So here's the first one, a Scots Pine of course.
This was a really healthy tree but the foliage was quite sparse on some of the branches. Also it was not my intention to use all of the branches. So with branch removal and structural pruning, quite a bit would end up on the floor.
And after the first styling.
The second is a Mugo Pine that I bought in Switzerland. It was bought from me for a workshop by a guy who put a lot of faith in me. He is now not just a customer but a friend. This is the Mugo before work commenced. This tree was in my nursery for quite a few years. Lots of people looked at it, including a few bonsai professionals and the comments were always the same. If only the foliage was nearer the trunk. The sticking point being the very straight, as thick as your wrist branch which held 90% of the foliage.
Fortunately Neil who bought the tree asked me what I would do with the tree if I styled it. After giving him my vision for the tree, he bought it. That's showing faith, because here's what we did.
It was just a case of folding the branch 180 degrees and then folding it back again in half on itself the other way. (So fold it in half to the right, then back in half to the left).
Because of the placement of the branches on the big branch and because of their length, I could not quite get the desired image. But it's close. In the future, shari will be added to the main heavy branch underneath which is very straight, to give visual taper. And some branches will be extended to the right to also break up the straight line. But that's all for next time.
The last tree is a Chinese Juniper I styled for a client. I supplied and styled the tree. This is pretty straight forward stuff that I see as more of a bit of heavy refinement work. But many would call this styling.
Before work started and as received from Japan.
And after a wash, shave, shampoo and set.
The two main alterations were to twist the tree clockwise in the pot so that you see the live vein leaving the pot rather than having the live vein emerge half way up the trunk which is undesirable and to be avoided if at all possible. And to lift the tree up to make it more elegant, hence the prop. If you look at the before image the tree is hanging it's head.
That's it for today folks! Time for bed!
And how right was I to put my faith in you!
ReplyDeleteThis tree is well on the way to being a stunning bonsai. Thank you.