HAVING SOME WINTER FUN WHILE PREPARING MY LARCH (XL) FOR A SHOW.

Jack Carrack wrote:Good luck with the show. The tree looks in great condition.

Hope the new addition recovers well.

Fore wrote:Beautiful Hans! I commend you on fine wiring with frozen fingers! Good luck at the show!

sunip wrote:Hello Hans,
Man i only went out to cheque the greenhouses with this wether!
So we gonna meet this tree at Noelanders??
Nice idea to look forward to in the next year.
Sunip

Steve p wrote:Thats how the men do it. No fancy studio hat and coat on and get out there lol, i love this makes me want to get my hat on and get out there lol. Looking good.

Thanks guy's! Yes I was a regular hero, wiring in this weather with a cold....but I was bloody freezing my dangly bits off! And there was not much left to hold, when I finaly managed to pee! I would kill for a warm studio to work in! Yes Noelanders is the aim, so fingers crossed!

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

tony wrote:Another year and its now amazing... nothing lost from last time I saw this wonderful tree!

Thanks Tony! Yes everything stays in place with almost no wire! Time goes by so fast dont it?! Even in Bonsai years!

CU SOON BRO!!!!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Sakaki wrote:

Hans van Meer. wrote:

Oh god! This is another masterpiece that needs & deserves a name as we did for Tony's dragon
(May I suggest one?)
It is great tree!!!

Best wishes
Taner

Hi Taner, you do me to much honor sire.....please do go on!!!! You can always suggest a name, I am curious what you see in my tree?....But it already has a name, XL as in extra Large! That is the name I came upp with when I had to carry it down a with meltwater soaked mountain side and realized that I had saved to much off a rootbal to be carried by just one person! Especially because that one person, that was in line for a lower back operation, his legs had slowly sunken knee deep and were about to bend in the opposite direction, because he just would not let go off the tree! When my wife asked what happened: I mumbled something with my dying breath... tree...to Large! ..Extra Large...ha..ha...ha! You have to admire that even in desperation, I always try to be funny! That's why it's named XL and it grows slowly in to it's name to. I tried to style it in my way to look like a enormous tree and that seams to have worked, so XL is fitting I think?! But give me yours and surprise me?????

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

And yes I have been sampling my Remy Martin and chocolates again!

gman wrote:Nice looking tree Hans, will you freshen up the deawood features for the show?
Nice find too.....they are tough so hopefully it will make it.
Cheers
Graham

Thanks Graham! Good question! Gives me the change to explain how I approach this styling on this particular tree. No I will not clean it to much actually. Green algae and stuff that hides importand features yes, but I like it to look as naturally weathered as possible so no bleaching or something like that. This design is my own impression of a huge distance tree, but it is a imaginary tree image non the less and for that to work (in my opinion) all natural looking part like bark, jins and shari should look as close to the truth as possible! So that the viewer, who recognizes those thing in a blink, from seeing a thousand trees in real live, feels comfortable with the image he sees in front of him. It is my believe that when you feed the viewer the right information than you can creat a image that is recognizable and believable to most, even when it is a fantasy tree like this one! With this design I want the viewer to see in one glance: how fare the image of my tree grows from where they stand and how tall it must be to look like that! And that illusion is created with open or negotive spaces in and around this tree, these open spaces are hardly noticeable in these pictures, but in 3D they will do the trick much better! After that is all established, well than (I hope) that they can better enjoy the actual impression that I am trying to convey to them, becauce they now know the facts of this tree and than they can better enjoy the fantasy and (hopefully) beauty of my tree and work! It must be a balance between natural and made up, for me that is Bonsai! But that is personal! Long explanation and I hope it gives some insight in how I think and work.

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Vance Wood wrote:Great tree and a wonderful image not typical of the image Larch present naturally. Not being critical just pointing out the obvious and wishing to illustrate that the natural form of a tree does not necessarily mean that a bonsai must conform to that image. Many trees used in bonsai under bonsai culture successfully achieve forms not common to the tree in nature. However the images they do attain look natural and believable which makes them great bonsai.

Thanks Vance! A fantasy tree that feels naturally is all that I aimed for in this case! I want to leave a impression, a feeling like the ones most off us have when the see a mighty distance tree, even though it is a fantasy tree! I cant wait to hear the reactions when (hopefully) the tree is showed for the first time next month!

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hans van Meer. wrote:

gman wrote:Nice looking tree Hans, will you freshen up the deawood features for the show?
Nice find too.....they are tough so hopefully it will make it.
Cheers
Graham

Thanks Graham! Good question! Gives me the change to explain how I approach this styling on this particular tree. No I will not clean it to much actually. Green algae and stuff that hides importand features yes, but I like it to look as naturally weathered as possible so no bleaching or something like that. This design is my own impression of a huge distance tree, but it is a imaginary tree image non the less and for that to work (in my opinion) all natural looking part like bark, jins and shari should look as close to the truth as possible! So that the viewer, who recognizes those thing in a blink, from seeing a thousand trees in real live, feels comfortable with the image he sees in front of him. It is my believe that when you feed the viewer the right information than you can creat a image that is recognizable and believable to most, even when it is a fantasy tree like this one! With this design I want the viewer to see in one glance: how fare the image of my tree grows from where they stand and how tall it must be to look like that! And that illusion is created with open or negotive spaces in and around this tree, these open spaces are hardly noticeable in these pictures, but in 3D they will do the trick much better! After that is all established, well than (I hope) that they can better enjoy the actual impression that I am trying to convey to them, becauce they now know the facts of this tree and than they can better enjoy the fantasy and (hopefully) beauty of my tree and work! It must be a balance between natural and made up, for me that is Bonsai! But that is personal! Long explanation and I hope it gives some insight in how I think and work.

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hans...... thank you for taking the time to respond ....informing us of your inner creative concepts.
I do understand the concept and the vision ...... perhaps I see it from a distance too but on a sunny day in which the deadwood appears ghostly white tinted with grey and shadows.......my images are founded on spending over 37 years exploring the local mountains and rich pacific northwest ecosystems that abound with such ancient forests.....
Cheers
From way across the pond lol
Graham

Hello Hans;

This is one of those trees that I find inspirational. Definitely worth some out of breath exercise down the mountain!!

Cheers
Bryan

Hello,
this tree will be exhibited at NOELANDRES TROPHY with wires?
I don't know if it is a problem, the tree is very beautifull, but i know that the selection off trees is realized only with photographies , but do you have ask the question to Marc NOELANDERS ?

Hi Hans

I can't see your picture....insteadt will I look forward to see your tree live at "Noelanders".....I bring two shohin of own breed

Kind regards Yvonne

Hans van Meer. wrote:

Sakaki wrote:

Hans van Meer. wrote:

Oh god! This is another masterpiece that needs & deserves a name as we did for Tony's dragon
(May I suggest one?)
It is great tree!!!

Best wishes
Taner

Hi Taner, you do me to much honor sire.....please do go on!!!! You can always suggest a name, I am curious what you see in my tree?....But it already has a name, XL as in extra Large! That is the name I came upp with when I had to carry it down a with meltwater soaked mountain side and realized that I had saved to much off a rootbal to be carried by just one person! Especially because that one person, that was in line for a lower back operation, his legs had slowly sunken knee deep and were about to bend in the opposite direction, because he just would not let go off the tree! When my wife asked what happened: I mumbled something with my dying breath... tree...to Large! ..Extra Large...ha..ha...ha! You have to admire that even in desperation, I always try to be funny! That's why it's named XL and it grows slowly in to it's name to. I tried to style it in my way to look like a enormous tree and that seams to have worked, so XL is fitting I think?! But give me yours and surprise me?????

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

And yes I have been sampling my Remy Martin and chocolates again!

Actually I didn't know that you named it XL. I thought you've been using those letters to express its size only
Anyway, I would offer you "X-Larch" instead of "X-Large"

Take care & good luck in competition!
Taner

abcd wrote:Hello,
this tree will be exhibited at NOELANDRES TROPHY with wires?
I don't know if it is a problem, the tree is very beautifull, but i know that the selection off trees is realized only with photographies , but do you have ask the question to Marc NOELANDERS ?

Hi abcd,
last years number 1 and 2 in competition and a other nominated/awarded tree in the Noelanders show were compleatly wired and that this was probably don just a few days before the show becauce the copper wire was still shinning and very nottisable, so I dont think those few tinny wires in my tree that are hardly nottisable wil be no problem!
And did you know this: This quote is taken from William N. Valavanis 2012 KOKUFU BONSAI EXHIBITION REPORT

William N. Valavanis wrote:Yesterday I completed my three day study at this year's Kokufu Bonsai Exhibition.

Now, as far as wiring goes, I did some research yesterday on the wired bonsai in the exhibition:

Total bonsai exhibits on display: 252 (including 7 shohin bonsai compositions)

130 narrow leaf evergreens (large and medium size only, not shohin bonsai)

118 bonsai wired
12 unwired
(and most of the unwired bonsai looked that way and could have used some wire)

It seems to me that many Westerners try to be more "pure" than the Japanese when displaying bonsai.

Just a few first hand observations in my opinion.
Bill

So if it is ok at the Kokufu it must be ok at the Noelanders!
Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

yes i think, if the tree is selected, the copper wire will not be a problem (and will not be a selection clue) as long as the tree is ready for show.
looking forward to see it in real at the trophy,nice tree

maybe heavy pot (maybe not hihihi)?

gman wrote:

Hans van Meer. wrote:

gman wrote:Nice looking tree Hans, will you freshen up the deawood features for the show?
Nice find too.....they are tough so hopefully it will make it.
Cheers
Graham

Thanks Graham! Good question! Gives me the change to explain how I approach this styling on this particular tree. No I will not clean it to much actually. Green algae and stuff that hides importand features yes, but I like it to look as naturally weathered as possible so no bleaching or something like that. This design is my own impression of a huge distance tree, but it is a imaginary tree image non the less and for that to work (in my opinion) all natural looking part like bark, jins and shari should look as close to the truth as possible! So that the viewer, who recognizes those thing in a blink, from seeing a thousand trees in real live, feels comfortable with the image he sees in front of him. It is my believe that when you feed the viewer the right information than you can creat a image that is recognizable and believable to most, even when it is a fantasy tree like this one! With this design I want the viewer to see in one glance: how fare the image of my tree grows from where they stand and how tall it must be to look like that! And that illusion is created with open or negotive spaces in and around this tree, these open spaces are hardly noticeable in these pictures, but in 3D they will do the trick much better! After that is all established, well than (I hope) that they can better enjoy the actual impression that I am trying to convey to them, becauce they now know the facts of this tree and than they can better enjoy the fantasy and (hopefully) beauty of my tree and work! It must be a balance between natural and made up, for me that is Bonsai! But that is personal! Long explanation and I hope it gives some insight in how I think and work.

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Hans...... thank you for taking the time to respond ....informing us of your inner creative concepts.
I do understand the concept and the vision ...... perhaps I see it from a distance too but on a sunny day in which the deadwood appears ghostly white tinted with grey and shadows.......my images are founded on spending over 37 years exploring the local mountains and rich pacific northwest ecosystems that abound with such ancient forests.....
Cheers
From way across the pond lol
Graham

Hi again Graham, I also love to see those white deadwood sections sticking out off mountain trees in the distance! There is a amazingly enormous old Mugo full off multi colored deadwood that I found years ago while walking high in the mountains surrounding Solden in Austria. I only discovered it becauce I saw it large jined top, that was the only part sticking out trough the thick mist below me, light up brightly when the sun hit it! A amazing experience and sitting underneed this lonesome survivor was so overwhelming that I went back to see it again 3 years in a row!
Below: The amazing wide base of that Pine.



Below: Two more amazing shots featuring deadwood that I made in Austria. The second one almost looks like sea corral, but it actually all what is left off the base of a dead Pine. The colors of the deadwood on these two pictures are what I am aiming for in this tree off mine, a mixture between golden brown and grayish white!





The deadwood on my larch in the pictures I posted at the start of this post apear more dull and smudged than they are in real live and they will look even more brighter and cleaner at the show! If all goes right that is! Thanks for your reply!

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

PS: And there is a other problem that I forgot to mention: After trying it several times I came to the conclusion that deadwood on larch realy look artificial after being treated with Lime Sulfur and that wont tone down much after time like on a pine. It looked realy out off place, so thats a other reason why I decided to leave it as naturally white as possible!

Yvonne Graubaek wrote:Hi Hans

I can't see your picture....insteadt will I look forward to see your tree live at "Noelanders".....I bring two shohin of own breed

Kind regards Yvonne

Hi Yvonne,
what a shame you cant see the pictures! But what good news that you are bringing in two shohin of your own to the show! Well don!!! Looking forward to see them and you there!

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Without long dead wood, a subject of much discussion I think ?
[img][/img]

abcd wrote:Without long dead wood, a subject of much discussion I think ?

Hi abcd,
no not realy, you are the first one ever! No just kidding, there was some debate in the beginning when years ago I showed the first styling pictures on the forum. But now it has come all together better and all who have seen this tree in real live in my garden over this last years do like it! If you look at the picture below (that I just made especially for you ) that section were the new top live section meets that large jin and shari, that section is all naturally created by mother nature and it shows perfectly, in miniature, what happens for real in nature when the top off a mountain tree like Pine, larch or spruce dies back after being hit by lightning or a avalanche. The tree wants to survive so from around that point many new branches will apear from which one branch will become the new top section. Just like you can see on hundreds of trees high up in the mountains. But that is not the only reason why I made that jin such a important part off this whole image, in my opinion it ads interest to the whole story of this tree and it makes it (in my view) more exciting to look at! I would not think about it to remove it or even shorten it! But I do understand that this is a matter off taste! But I also know that it all looks and feels much better in real live!



Hope this answers your question?

Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

Thanks Hans…… for not only answering my question but also for taking the time to answer all of them.
It’s enjoyable seeing posts of pots, trees, progressions... etc but the education that you've provided helps all to appreciate the aspects that you are trying to emulate and the vision you try to portray.
Cheers
Graham

Optimal Hans job, name XL is just right for this plant.

Regards , Daniele

OK, thank you for the détail and your comment , the head of the the tree is dead, an "apex of substitution" grow .

hi Hans,

lovely larch - a perfect combination of wild weathered mountain life and bonsai life - looking forward to seeing it at the show

in time..........i think a pot that would allow the trunk to be set slightly right of center would balance the total view. At the moment the tree trunk sits perfect center and the rest of the upper tree is off to the left - but this is a small detail and takes time of course due to the roots of a wild tree not always being right where we want them.

see you at the show

Marcus

I LOVE this larch. Such an impressive trunk, and fantastic movement to it. Is there a thread to see its history? I couldn't find it.

Thanks, Mike

MikeG wrote:I LOVE this larch. Such an impressive trunk, and fantastic movement to it. Is there a thread to see its history? I couldn't find it.

Thanks, Mike

Thanks Mike!
Below: The story's of my Larch (XL) Part I to IV and some moving images, enjoy!

PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV







Cheers,
Hans van Meer.

impressive trunk base, nice bark, wish the top part would allready have had a more mature look too it (thicker to match the powerful old look of the trunk below, and more bark) but you certainly did a good job with what the tree allready has to offer now. So this is not really a critique is it ;-). Time will prove to be a friend of this tree i am sure.

The hat ...'bonzaï records' , yeah that does ring a bell too , that was a famous belgian label where allmost all oldskool house music was born into the world. Remember "Jones&Stephenson's first rebirth" or are you too 'old' to remember that . Maybe you only wear the hat because it says bonZai . Anyway, fait divers, some nice nostalgics

Thanks so much for the links Hans. I'm even more impressed after seeing its beginnings. Great progression series.