mugo pine "Twister" 2012

The first image was taken shortly after collecting this tree a few years ago.

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To find the best front was a little bit difficult here. The tree was set on this stone, where the inclined soli surface allowes a more upright planting position.


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Now the pine was styled again and the fronside is determined. It´s crazy how twisted a trink can get, a real freak of nature. I`m searching for an adequate pot/rock or whatever may fit.

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Regards,
Marco

Well, I am new to the bonsai world, but I like it!

That sharp bend up top is really distracting and takes a lot away from the image. How about rotating it a bit?

Luc

the top of the trunk looks like a bird looking at the sun.
.peacock

Erik Križovenský made a proposal for the Pine.

Regards,
Marco

luc tran wrote:That sharp bend up top is really distracting and takes a lot away from the image. How about rotating it a bit?

Luc

I would have to disagree. I think the sharp bend suits the character of the tree very well. I would not try to hide it.

Love this tree.

I would not hide the bend either; I like it very much!

Today the tree was set into this pot made by Erik Križovenský.



Regards,
Marco

Beautiful.
the pot really sets the tree off.
Excellent work Marco.

Now the tree with a better soil surface an plucked needles.

Regards,
Marco

Beautiful! The combination of the tree and the pot is excellent. 

luc tran wrote:That sharp bend up top is really distracting and takes a lot away from the image. How about rotating it a bit?

Luc

Hmm. Different folks see things differently, I guess.


I think that sharp turn is the focal point of the tree. I think the only thing I would not have done on it is that spiral shari; that is gilding the lilly, I think.

JimLewis wrote:

luc tran wrote:That sharp bend up top is really distracting and takes a lot away from the image. How about rotating it a bit?

Luc

Hmm.  Different folks see things differently, I guess.  


I think that sharp turn is the focal point of the tree.  I think the only thing I would not have done on it is that spiral shari; that is gilding the lilly, I think.

I may be wrong but I think the incredible shari is mostly natural, and he just cleaned/emphasized it.

I like the combination, the natural bend is fine too.  

JimLewis wrote:(...)
I think the only thing I would not have done on it is that spiral shari; that is gilding the lilly, I think.

Aye, to me it's like "macramé style" : un-natural pretending to look natural. to me, it dooesn't add anything but a touch of "look-what-I-can-do" fashion of the moment.

Oops, me and my big mouth...

Apart from that very artificial trick, the overall design is excellent I think.

I totally disagree with this position. I lived for a number of years in Northern California where I learned the basics of bonsai, collecting and trout fishing with the hand tied fly. I remember one time coming across a 100 foot tall Doug Fir that had been struck by lightening. The bolt hit at the top of the tree and curled its way around the trunk all the way to the soil line. It blasted the bark off the tree in much the same way it is depicted in the way this tree is styled. I personally like this tree very much.

AlainK wrote:
Aye, to me it's like "macramé style" : un-natural pretending to look natural. to me, it dooesn't add anything but a touch of "look-what-I-can-do" fashion of the moment.
 

Alain,

the shari is natural. Its a characteristic of old mugo pines that they often have deadwoodsparts but you dont see them because the bark adheres for a long time.
The last years the bark slowly began to come of. I just edited the deadwood parts a little bit.

In general I dont like to use spectacular bonsai technics, I am always searching for the most easiest way to style and try to preserve the original characteristic of the tree.
Fashion is horror for me.

Regards,
Marco

Vance Wood wrote:I totally disagree with this position.  I lived for a number of years in Northern California where I learned the basics of bonsai, collecting and trout fishing with the hand tied fly.  I remember one time coming across a 100 foot tall Doug Fir that had been struck by lightening.  The bolt hit at the top of the tree and curled its way around the trunk all the way to the soil line.  It blasted the bark off the tree in much the same way it is depicted in the way this tree is styled.  I personally like this tree very much.

I really love the composition of this tree. I like the shari and its a natural look. I can take a pic of an 80' maple in my neighbor's yard that was struck by lightning last week. Same thing, spiral shari down the length of the trunk. Somehow the tree wasnt blown apart etc.

Vance, I didnt know you were a fellow fly fisherman! Hows the trout fishing in california? I would have thought lousy. I suppose you would have wild steelhead within a day's drive. Still, I will take catching 20 Great Lakes steelhead over 0-1 "wild" steelhead any day.

You must be right.

But when I look at the first picture...

MerschelMarco wrote:
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... I can but see an artificial corkscrew peeling around the trunk in the later photos.

But it's OK, I like it very much as it is now, yet:

A more straight line would have been good too, but this is just another interpretation of what life, and nature could have led this tree to look like. To me, the sharp angle at the top, which is natural, is the focal point of the tree. The rather regular spiral around the trunk somehow spoils the natural beauty of the tree, in my opinion.

I hope you don't take my swimming against the current opinions as an insult, but as a friendly point of view  

pwk5017 wrote:

Vance Wood wrote:I totally disagree with this position.  I lived for a number of years in Northern California where I learned the basics of bonsai, collecting and trout fishing with the hand tied fly.  I remember one time coming across a 100 foot tall Doug Fir that had been struck by lightening.  The bolt hit at the top of the tree and curled its way around the trunk all the way to the soil line.  It blasted the bark off the tree in much the same way it is depicted in the way this tree is styled.  I personally like this tree very much.

I really love the composition of this tree. I like the shari and its a natural look. I can take a pic of an 80' maple in my neighbor's yard that was struck by lightning last week. Same thing, spiral shari down the length of the trunk. Somehow the tree wasnt blown apart etc.

Vance, I didnt know you were a fellow fly fisherman! Hows the trout fishing in california? I would have thought lousy. I suppose you would have wild steelhead within a day's drive.  Still, I will take catching 20 Great Lakes steelhead over 0-1 "wild" steelhead any day.

There are quite a few very nice small mountain trout streams all over the place in California-----kind of like in the same areas where there are trees to collect.  Surprising how they can over-lap.  You can find places to fish where not too many people know about.  Michigan is another story.  There are some legendary trout rivers here but they are pounded so relentlessly that you almost have to live along them to know some of the secrets to catching their fish. Sadly many of them are also host to a flotilla of kiackers, inertubers, canoes, and aircraft carriers making a decent day of floating a fly almost impossible.

AlainK wrote:You must be right.

But when I look at the first picture...

MerschelMarco wrote:
" />

... I can but see an artificial corkscrew peeling around the trunk in the later photos.

But it's OK, I like it very much as it is now, yet:

A more straight line would have been good too, but this is just another interpretation of what life, and nature could have led this tree to look like. To me, the sharp angle at the top, which is natural, is the focal point of the tree. The rather regular spiral around the trunk somehow spoils the natural beauty of the tree, in my opinion.

I hope you don't take my swimming against the current opinions as an insult, but as a friendly point of view  

Alain, once again, the shari is natural !l. It is not possible to create a straight line when the trunk is twisted, otherwise a "corkscrew peeling" kills the tree when the trunk is straight. Especially when the tree is at least 150 years old and the living parts of the trunk are absolutly defined comparable with a juniper. So the deadwood must be seen as a restriction, the artificial part is the inclusion of these inevitabilities in the overal design.

Regards,
Marco

It is imperative to remove the bark of a dead wood. Insects and mildew grow underneath. it's healthier for the tree.