The Art of Bonsai Project

Since these pictures were on ,i frequently visited the gallery. Like me more than 225 visitors watched the topic for over 30 days - and still no comments what so ever. The other trees received many comments on the same or next day, why so unusual silence on this gallery now! These widely acclaimed trees deserve some response atleast. The trees are amazing so is the lack of response ...

Let see if this starts something..
Okay - It's very easy to compliment the great trees here - several were at Gingko and are just that much more impressive in person.

I'll go out on a limb and start something off in a vein that doesn't happen too often out here. I'll point out my least favourite of these trees, with a couple reasons why. Sure, someone will tell me "I'd like to see you do better" - but that doesn't have a place here ? it's not the point. Walter doesn't need to defend his works. Wonderful images Walter.

Least Favorites:
Image 4 - Hibiscus - I don't know if hibiscus is hard to grow as bonsai - if so then maybe there is a reason for it's inclusion, but it doesn't seem to convey to me anything that bonsai usually does - sure the flowers are lovely, but they would be so on a houseplant.

Image 5 - Carpinus - I think I would quite like this tree except that many of the branches are too thick for too much of their length - it unbalances the tree in a way that I am having difficulty describing - it is an imbalance in the sense of scale being conveyed. The form and arrangement is great - it's just this one characteristic which distracts me.

Image 22 - Larix - this image isn't complete - either there's too much or too little; I'll need to play with the image to decide this for myself. Photographs of larch also suffer from the effects of timing - the point at which a great photo of larch can be taken (in my opinion) is when the brushes are just about a week past opening - this one is just a little past it's best show. The rugged bark texture over the complete tree is great. The branch placement seems just a little too balanced for both a bunjin and a Walter Pall tree. The image would also be more harmonious if the tree were planted more to the left of the pot, and I'm sure in Walter's pot warehouse there is something which would better suit this tree.

So go ahead beat up my critiques. They're worth the price you paid for 'em.
mikemc

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

Actually what I would like to see is Walter's analysis of his own trees and his way of thinking as he designs these master pieces. I have read in some sources where he says he does not follow the so called Japanese Model, but there are two things I do notice about his work. I believe they could hold up at any of the major Japanese shows.
There are some features found in the Japanese model present in his work as well. I am very curious as to how Walter organizes his thoughts on a piece. I hope this does not sound like a challenge, to Walter's vision, believe me it is not, I would like to be able to understand from his point of view how and why he does the things he does.
In short I don't want to critique his work I want to duplicate it. In order to do that I believe one must have some sort of understanding of how tree A became tree B and what happened in between. He has mentioned a tree touching his spirit. His trees touch mine, I wish mine did.

Vance,
This is a very good idea, worthy of discussion. If Walter has the time, a piece describing and chronicling the artistic process of creation of one or more of his trees would make an excellent educational article for the forum.
On a side note, it is very nice seeing you here Vance.

Will

I'm glad to be here, I got tired of watching paint dry and bread mold, the task of the day at another place.

' If Walter has the time, a piece describing and chronicling the artistic process of creation of one or more of his trees would make an excellent educational article for the forum.'

Vance and Will,
what you are asking for is what I do in many of my articles, showing the development from raw material to finished bonsai and describing my thought process at every point. But this here is a gallery. It is about showing what is or is close to the desired end result.

I think this has to stand on it's own now. My desire was to make these trees speak - speak for themselves. It is up to the viewer to listen; listen to the trees and not too me. A tree that really needs my explanations now has failed. Now is the time of the viewer and the critics. I have to shut up at this moment. And I will.
Walter

"But this here is a gallery. It is about showing what is or is close to the desired end result."
Walter,
You are indeed correct, this is not the place for discussing styling choices, but instead to critique or comment on the view presented.

Will

The literati-style Sabina Juniper, with the bowed head, is a truly beautiful tree. It takes an inventive mind to leave the extensive jins on the tree, while it's being styled. That Walter has done so, and is in a position to show it to the rest of the world, is to the benefit of us all.