I have seen many of Walter's fine bonsai at the Internet Bonsai Club galleries, where Walter very often posts and at Walters own website.
Among Walter's trees there are many I like very much, and some that don't fit to my taste. This might have to do with the fact that we have different influences from nature surrounding us, and a just different taste in bonsai images.
Walter never sits between two chairs and misses a full expression that makes the bonsai look dull. That's a great advantage that sometimes also leads to less good bonsai ' but Walter dares and that's good, and he knows when it goes wrong. Sometimes it's overdone for my taste (regarding my personal flavour for bonsai), and the so-called naturalistic style gets more artificial than natural in my opinion. Well, that's my personal taste, and its far better to have these experimenting and personal bonsai styles than equality and boring mainstream bonsai all over. It is almost impossible to judge the quality of artistry because it is so committed to the personal expression, and hasn't much to do with techniques.
When it comes to techniques it is another case. So here goes my personal taste, and not much about the technical matters.
Let's go to comments at the gallery
My top three favourites.
Number one: Juniperus sabina, Sabina juniper, 75 cm high.
A fantastic and elegant bonsai. Very feminine. The overall harmony is so elegant and light. I get a feeling of a very quiet place on a low hillside, with the cold air from the mountains that gently sweeps down the valley. I would love to sit underneath and counting sheep's, or having a beer.
Favourite number two: Acer palmatum, Japanese maple, 85 cm high.This tree is very typical as a solitaire around here in Denmark. The colours of the leaves and the pot blend very well. A steady tree as I remember from my childhood. That's why I like it and then some.
The third favourite: Pinus mugo, Pine, 50 cm high. Trees like this are to be seen in Norway and at the west coast of Denmark too occasionally. A dramatic and yet calm tree, haunted by winds and snow. It tells a clear history of its life, and I like that in bonsai. Good companionship with the pot, and it dares to challenge the ballance.
Dislikes comes here:
The Hibiscus rosa sinensis, Hibiscus, 40 cm high. The proportions gone mad here (sorry) and I can't find the tree. The flowers are too big, and the trunk looks poor to me. No appeal here.
Fagus sylvatica, European beech, 50 cm high. I find the trunk and nebari giving an unnatural appearance, regarding as image of a tree. It just doesn't work for me, and the pot is a little too heavy and big. It might work when the leaves are on.
Personal taste
In general I like Walters's trees very much, and who am I judging his trees' I haven't done bonsai far as long time as Walter, but I do have my flavour and favourites of styles, as well as I have the deepest respect for the design and skills performed by Walter.
I sad in a hut two years ago with good friends on a Yamadori hunting, and in the afternoon we had some wine and looked in bonsai magazines before we tipped and felt a sleep exhausted by the tours in the mountains (not the wine -:)
A typical reaction on the photos in the books was that one jumped in the seat and shouted 'look at this masterpiece', whilst another one leaned back and said 'what' That piece of crap''
This just to underline the big differences in taste regarding bonsai, and how much is related to the person that watches the bonsai.
Kind regards to Walter for showing these fine bonsai.
Regards
Morten Albek