Scots Pine Literati

Here's a Scots pine I have been working with for a couple of years and which is just starting to mature.



Will

Will, interesting design.
The bark needs some antiquity. Maybe wrapping it is sphagnum moss might help.

Thanks Rob.


Here is a close up of the trunk bark, just beginning to mature.....

Below is a side by side progression showing 10 months worth of work.

Hi Will,

the pot fits this very well.

feminine tree and feminine drum pot.

Best regards
Peter

Thanks Peter,

I was worried about this pot as it is visually busy, but once the tree was in it, I liked it very much.


Will

I had the opportunity to see this tree in person at the Ann Arbor Bonsai Society Show last weekend. Will was a vendor there, and had it displayed in his sales area.

It does need some maturing, but I really like this tree. The pot was well chosen - it works well with the tree.

Jay

Will,

Great Job ! I think you have captured the essence of the classic "hanging branch" style. The progression photos are pretty neat too. The tree goes from "a wild & crazy guy" to a "shy introvert"!


Ed Trout

Jay, nice seeing you on-line here and it was a pleasure meeting you at the Ann Arbor show, which was very successful by any measure. Thanks for the kind words on the Scots.

Ed,

I have always liked the drop branch bunjin style, I'm very pleased to hear your thoughts on this tree, thanks!



Will

Hi will, still along ways to go with the development of this potensia,
not sure its a " literati "though!, the bottom ,middle or apex on there
own maybe should,nt literati be like,nd to the single stroke of a pen
or brush thanks for posting.

regards Alex e

alex e wrote:Hi will, still along ways to go with the development of this potensia,
not sure its a " literati "though!, the bottom ,middle or apex on there
own maybe should,nt literati be like,nd to the single stroke of a pen
or brush thanks for posting.

regards Alex e

A Literati should have some of the attributes of calligraphy but if you take the definition to seriously the Literati would be void of branches.

I think you have done a nice job with this. It is definitely a tree with its eye on the future. When the age of the tree matches its design it will be very worthy of contemplation. In the meantime, I think the reason the pot works is perhaps that it lends a little bit of intererest and detail where the tree still falls a little short - a compensation, or balance. My very limited experience with Scots pine is that they age up relatively quickly, so I am looking forward to seeing this in the coming years.

Vance Wood wrote:

alex e wrote:Hi Will, still along ways to go with the development of this potensia,
not sure its a " literati "though!, the bottom ,middle or apex on there
own maybe should,nt literati be like,nd to the single stroke of a pen
or brush thanks for posting.

regards Alex e

A Literati should have some of the attributes of calligraphy but if you take the definition to seriously the Literati would be void of branches.

Hi Vance, Hence the reason the "literati" style is so called
regards Alex e

Will himself called this a bunjin, and a Japanese artist told us [ at a workshop] that there is a diference between bunjin and literati, as the Japanese are different from the Chinese.

alex e wrote:

Vance Wood wrote:

alex e wrote:Hi Will, still along ways to go with the development of this potensia,
not sure its a " literati "though!, the bottom ,middle or apex on there
own maybe should,nt literati be like,nd to the single stroke of a pen
or brush thanks for posting.

regards Alex e

A Literati should have some of the attributes of calligraphy but if you take the definition to seriously the Literati would be void of branches.

Hi Vance, Hence the reason the "literati" style is so called
regards Alex e

Could you define what a literati tree is for us, including the branches?

gordonb wrote:Will himself called this a bunjin, and a Japanese artist told us [ at a workshop] that there is a diference between bunjin and literati, as the Japanese are different from the Chinese.

Actually "literati" is the English translation based on the latin "literatus" and means "men of letters." Bunjin is Japanese reading of the Kanji characters which were originally Chinese and pronounced Wen ren (in one Chinese dialect) and surprisingly means "Men of letters." Sometimes called in English "The Intelligentsia."

Most people do not know that the Literati or Bunjing style of bonsai is the only style that was not created to mimic trees in nature, instead the style was developed to mimic the style of trees protrayed in paintings, the literati paintings. I explored the literati style in this article http://artofbonsai.org/feature_articles/literati.php and I am always inspired by the Penjing of Qingquan Zhao http://www.artofbonsai.org/galleries/zhao.php

Also unknown to many is that the words bunjin and literati literally mean the same thing, however Literati has come to denote traditional literati syling while bunjing leans more toward the penjing (Chinese) interpretation of the style.

alex e,

I would be greatly interested in hearing your thoughts on the future devvelopment you see is needed in this tree. You said that you would not consider it a literati, what exactly would you do to this tree, if it was on your bench?

Velodog2,

Thanks.



Will


EDIT: I see Rob beat me to the punch on the literati/bunjing definitions, but he did it much better. (Thanks Rob)

Will Heath wrote:
EDIT: I see Rob beat me to the punch on the literati/bunjing definitions, but he did it much better. (Thanks Rob)

No problem Will, Lots of misinformation on the internet and in clubs. Most people forget or don't know what we call "bonsai" was originally a Chinese art.

Hi Will,
Thanks for asking,not knowing the dimensions of the tree i see a very
feminine tree, my first image would be using only the first branch
as is, then creating an apex & one main pad,discarding the now apex
and jin the now middle section.

Image two, jin the now first branch then using the second branch as a single
pad, third branch as a single pad & apex again jin above this.

Image three, the now first,second & third branches shortened & jin with
the now apex create two pads and new apex.
hope this helps

best regards Alex e

I would remove the 2nd and 3rd branches, develop the top as the apex, and create shari out of the "removed" branches. That is my minimalist opinion. I have also read (keep the internet misinformation in mind) that a literati is a representation of the creator, the wayward spirit living within the artist. If that translates to what is in the pot now, keep it all!

Thanks for the thoughts, how about some virts?



Will

Hi again Will, re; the virts, unfortunately my computer skills are far removed
from my bonsai skills, I am sure it,s not rocket science would be more
than happy to learn though {wait for it} then I could show you what I
had in mind for your tree

Alex

very nice...well done
i love these kind of shapes...really
like the olds mountains trees
your work is so well...i don t see something else than this drawing
exactly your work but in few years...

cram wrote:very nice...well done
i love these kind of shapes...really
like the olds mountains trees
your work is so well...i don t see something else than this drawing
exactly your work but in few years...

Nice drawing Cram.
I'd like to see the bottom branch thicker.

Hi Will, speaking of Brook Zhoa, he lead workshops and did a demo at the recent (last weekend) 20th PNWBCA convention hosted in Victoria BC. As you can imagine his book was a hot seller and his workshops/demo were jammed full with onlookers like me.
Here is a picture (poor quality- hotel corridor) of his tree just before it was auctioned off, it sold for C$880 or so and is now somewhere in Washington state.
It was very tall about 60” or so……is it a double Literati style or does it have a different name if there are two trees?
Cheers Gman