Development of a couple of yews

These are a couple of yews i've been working on for a few years now.
I worked on refining these last Friday with Ryan Neal, he is a very talented and kind artist and I am very satisfied with his work and enjoyed the workshop very much.
Anyone with a chance to work with him should take advantage of the opportunity.

2007 Graham Potter did initial carving

Close up of carving

October 2008 with lime sulfer applied

More photographs of what I call my demon Yew
Wired Febuary 2009





Wire removed and growing strong fall 2010

Workshop results, Thank you Ryan



I like this for the front and plan on poting it into a Nick Lenz Pot this Spring

Doug,

nice yew. short and powerful.

the 3rd and 5th photos are quite bothering though. looks like an alien mask due to the equally two large holes in the shari. but thats just in the angle of shot i guess.

regards,
jun

Yew number two, I call this one my Flame Yew (i've got to keep track of them somehow)
Spring of 2007



Growing strong and healthy September 2010


The back

After many hours of bark cleaning and wiring




I took wired tree to Ryan Neal workshop and he refined it and improved it greatly IMHO

jun wrote:Doug,

nice yew. short and powerful.

the 3rd and 5th photos are quite bothering though. looks like an alien mask due to the equally two large holes in the shari. but thats just in the angle of shot i guess.

regards,
jun

Thanks Jun
I like errie & disturbing trees, I guess i've been working with Nick for to long

I like both of the trees - I love yews generally - thanks for sharing them.

My own personal taste on the first tree, if you don't mind me saying so, would be to dramatically soften and darken (I would say "grayen" but that's not a word) the bleached look on the deadwood, and then you would have something that would look like an ancient ravaged beast of a yew that might be found in an English churchyard. Again, that's just my personal taste.

Thanks again for sharing them.

Jersanct
I don't like the artificial look of the freshly applied Lime Sulpher either, but it will weather quickly and mellow to the desired more natural color.
There's all kinds of tricks to achieve this like adding indian ink to lime sulpher but I find time does the trick nicely. No hurry it's bonsai.

Hello Doug. Both trees progressing very nicely. Has Ryan finished his work in Japan now?

will baddeley wrote:Hello Doug. Both trees progressing very nicely. Has Ryan finished his work in Japan now?

Yes Ryan has completed his apprenticeship with Kimura and is now traveling around the US teaching. He plans on returning to Japan to help get trees ready for the big show next year, if I remember right Kokufu ten. He was a headliner at Bill Valavanis's Bonsai Symposium than traveled from Upsate NY to Western Massachusetts where he worked for a few day with a friend of mine, Geof, who was the 2010 A.B.S. New Talent Competition winner, on the third day Geoff's invited some of his friend's over for a full day workshop with Ryan.

What really stands out to me is the fact that he was very humble and ALWAY's asked permission before doing work on my trees.

Ryan’s Bio from Bill Valavanis’s web site;
Ryan Neil- newly graduated apprentice of Masahiko Kimura
in Japan. Mr. Neil is originally from Colorado and received
his horticulture degree from California Polytechnic State
University in San Luis Obispo, California. His intense study
and mastering of the Japanese language helped him to understand
Mr. Kimura and successfully completed his six year
apprenticeship. He is now establishing himself in Oregon where
he plans to promote bonsai in the United States and teach
the bonsai techniques he learned while training in Japan.

A humble Bunjin Japanese Black Pine I worked on with Ryan


Ryan Neil at work

Oh ya here is a link to the soon to be completed web site for Ryan's "international Bonsai Mirai" web site.

http://bonsaimirai.com/

I didn't mean this post to become an advertisement for Ryan, but sometimes these things have a life of thier own. Honest I have NO commercial interest in Ryan's success I just enjoyed the workshop and his teaching style.

A collected pitch pine I worked on with Ryan. It's still in development but on it's way now.
I didn't get a Before picture, I hate it when I do that.

Maybe a tad off piste but I note the unnatural colour of LS is mentioned earlier. For the past couple of years for colour purposes I have had much success with MIG weathering powder mixed with LS to give a very natural look. It still needs sealing after it is dry though. LS offer little protection ...if any. You could use soot if you wish.

The powders.



Apologies for deviation of thread topic.

Mike