REBS 2006 Show

I haven't posted since early August, but believe me, it's not because I haven't been busy! Two major projects for the blog, and eventually the website, are nearly complete - The REBS '06 show and a grafting article that I have been working on occasionally for the last two years.  First the show, and in about two weeks, the grafting article.

As usual, the REBS show was my inspirational highlight of the year. A time to wish, dream, and smoosh with old bonsai buddies. I know I keep saying it, but this show gets better every year. Once again there were a number of new trees, and the quality continues to improve. This is due to the hard work of our members and sensei Kathy Shaner.

This year, I will depart from my usual practice of just posting the trees for you to drool over and include some comments about the trees. This is my personal critique and is not meant to be disparaging in any way. We all have our personal preferences and I thought it might be educational to point what I see as problems as well as what works well. I liked all of these trees or I wouldn't have taken their portraits.

The lighting was very poor as usual. There is really nothing the club can do about this. The Vets Hall is the only location large enough at a reasonable price to hold the show. For those that are interested, I took these shots with an Olympus C-3000 without flash to avoid shadows and tried to add a bit of additional light with a battery powered handheld photoflood. Using standard lights and tripod were not an option for a casual visitor. This meant that I had to do substantial color correction in the photoeditor (GIMP on a Linux computer). You can click on any of the photos below for the full picture size.

Juniperus procumbens. A quite large subject, probably collected from a landscape project. It is a good example of how you can overcome a lot of less than favorable trunk aspects with judicious use of branching to complete the overall  outline. Most of us probably would have removed the left arm of the trunk, but that would have left the composition quite unbalanced. The branch placement is very effective, but there are still years of detail work ahead.

Juniperus chinensis. I'm not sure if this was a 'Shimpaku', it wasn't labeled as such. Again, this is a younger project that still shows the need for detail work in the foliage pads. For my tastes, I would have pulled the very end of the upper apex down on the right side to make a more rounded crown. The lower apex is visually heavy and would benefit from some reduction and refinement, but this may be all that can be accomplished at this stage.

Acer buergerianum. A nice group planting with excellent tree positioning. Note the unequal left and right 'open tunnels' through the trunks, perfectly balanced in the composition. The two crossing trunk areas add interest rather than detract from the image and make it look more natural. The canopy is not quite right for me. There is too much difference between the foreground trees and the background trees, and there could be a bit more foliage areas on the left and right extremeties.

Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca'. This tree belongs to one of our study group members, so I am very familiar with it. It has  wonderful trunkline movement. It is very natural and a pleasure to view. A problem has been how to deal with the relatively straight trunk base and the stub of the old leader. I believe future plans call for revealing a bit more shari on the right. Tilting the trunk to the left and partially covering it with a foliage pad helps reduce the  linearity. The bottom most branches  of course need more growth and refinement to complete the image, but even at this stage, this image works for me. It's hard to take my eyes away from it, the true mark of success.

Quercus suber. This cork oak has very fine trunk movement, probably the best I have ever seen, complete with fully mature bark. It's too bad I couldn't get a better shot of it to study it in more detail. The canopy outline is perfect. It could use more detail work and wiring of the branches to refine it some more, but it is an outstanding piece.

Buxus microphylla 'Compacta'. A tiny 'Kingsville' box that is only about four inches tall with perfect branching and outline. The nebari could use some work to anchor it better to the soil. That is something that should be done throughout the lifetime of training a bonsai. It is difficult to now go back and make this kind of a correction.

Juniperus sp? I don't remember the species of this piece, but it wasn't a 'Shimpaku'. The pads are striking, but not highly refined yet. The end of the cascade arm is a bit too wide for me. I keep thinking that the right side of the upper apex should be brought down a bit, but then that might make it too symmetrical. The shape of the pot mirrors the composition, which I suppose it good, but I would like to see a virtual with square semi cascade pot in dark brown. The size of this tree is awesome. It is over three feet from the upper to the lower apex.

Malus. This flowering crab in full fruit is only about six inches tall. It was part of a larger shohin display with a great stand. The nebari is about three inches across. The crown could use some more branching and undoubtedly this will come in future years. Getting a small crab to ramify is very difficult. I look forward to seeing this tree five years from now. A colored glazed pot might have shown it off better.

Pinus thunbergii. Another wonderful semi cascade shohin, this Japanese black pine is only about six inches tall with great branching, ramification and one inch needles. It would be nice to see into it a bit more, but that is an extremely difficult task in a pine this small.

Juniperus chinensis 'Shimpaku'. An outstanding tree with incredible detail work in the foliage areas. I actually saw this tree earlier in the spring when the pad work had just been finished, and it was even more spectacular then because you could see into every pad and view all the thousands of tiny subbranches. The deadwood isn't too shabby either. You can spend a lot of time just gazing at this tree. The highly ornate stand is also a nice touch, but the tree is almost too heavy for it.

Pinus parviflora. This tree is the essence of dynamic balance. Letting the eye wander along the trunk line to the apex is a like taking a crooked path through the woods. The very strong flow to the left is balanced by the trunk movement to the right and then back to the left again at the top of the apex. The strong anchoring trunk gives it great stability despite all that visual weight to the left. Excellent detail work on the branches and extremely short needles keep it open and airy. This is a tree to drool over.

Ulmus parviflora 'Seiju'.  A very nice little  Chinese elm. If I  remember correctly, it is about  8 inches tall.  Taper and movement are very good, a result of proper training. The larger root to the right that makes up the bulk of the  nebari on that side is a little disconcerting.  Over the years this should be corrected.

Schinus molle. Pepper Tree. This is an unusual subject for bonsai, but this one works very well. It has a light airy feeling and is quite natural looking. You can't really apply most of the normal bonsai guidelines except for the foliage outline, but it still works for me. It will be interesting to see this tree in five years after it has more branch ramification.

Pinus parviflora. This Japanese white pine is not the formal upright 'Zuisho' form, but rather has more movement (and grace in my opinion). I wish I could have got more interior light to see some of the trunk detail, but this is the best I could do. Good trunk movement, perfect silhouette, and dynamic balance that makes it dance.

Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca'. Classic Blue Atlas cedar form. Mature pad formation, exquisite nebari that nearly fills the pot, perfect silhouette. The only thing that I think would improve it is the addition of a back branch just below the upper apex. It looks a little two dimensional in the photo. Still, one of the best trees in the show.

Cupressus sp? Somehow I lost track of the species in this forest planting. I think it may be Mendocino Cypress from the pygmy forest, but I'm not sure. Excellent composition and refreshingly different with the strong left flow that is reminescent of the Mendocino Coast where winds actually do this to groves. Center opening with the jutting intrusion of the deadwood is wonderful.

Bougainvillea. This sucker was a monster. Note the size of the identification card in the lower right corner (about 4 inches). The caliper of this thing is somewhere between 12 and 16 inches.

Juniperus chinensis 'Shimpaku'. This is a difficult subject. A shohin about 8 inches tall, it  lacks the grace of a refined older tree, but the composition also needs work. There are probably several ways to go. The long first branch is problematic, too long, too straight, no taper. I think I would have been inclined to shorten this branch and make the whole tree smaller with more deadwood throughout.  I would really like to see this tree in a critique for analysis. It seems to have much more potential than is coming through in this composition.

Juniperus chinensis 'Shimpaku'. Another shohin 'Shimpaku'. This is a good contrast with the one above. This one is even less developed than the other, but it has excellent composition and works well despite its lack of ramification and refinement. Wonderful trunk movement and use of deadwood. A few years from now, this will be an outstanding piece.

Tamarix chinensis.  Somehow I managed to get a really good photo of this Tamarisk. How in the world did the owner got it to flower in late August? Again, this is a composition that is natural and seemingly breaks a lot of rules, but is stunning. I spent a lot of time staring at this tree while there and still do at the photo. It has that lightness of the Pepper Tree above, but yet has a deeper density of foliage. Even the enormous reverse taper at the top of the trunk doesn't make any difference. A few things would make it even better in my opinion. I think the branches are a little too contorted in the apex, and others are not wired at all. Compare the branch work in the apex to that on the right side of the tree. They apex is too 'wiggly' making it look somewhat contrived. I would settle on a method and degree of branch motion and make it consistent throughout, but avoid repetition.

Quercus chrysolepis. I believe this is a collected Gold Cup Oak (Canyon Live Oak), not Q. agrifolia as  the label said. This is a great old stump and a prime example of how it is possible to turn a natural mess of trunks and branches into a classic outline, but it still retains its naturalness. The hollow is an inviting  feature.

Bougainvillea. Just for flower lovers.

Juniperus rigida. A needle juniper knockoff of John Naka's 'Goshin', but still a nice composition.

Parthenocissus quinquefolia. A classic form for Virginia Creeper. It's almost like a waterfall cascading down the stand and spilling onto the table top. I would love to see this in its blazing red fall color. Note the size of the trunk.

Juniperus. California Juniper. Not sure what species this is since we have both mountain and desert Junipers. Boy, does this tree dance or what? An incredible find. The trunkline is like a river spilling out onto the sand. Excellent branchwork. One of the best examples of collected junipers I have ever seen.

Malus sp. A very nice flowering crab with loads of apples and perfect foliage. This should be quite a sight in autumn when the leaves turn and fruit ripens.

Juniperus occidentalis.  A collected Western Juniper. Excellent branch and detail work. The right side works very well, but the curved branch on the left side disturbs me. On an old collected tree like this, removing or correcting a branch like this is a very big deal, but I think it should be done.

Acer palmatum. This Japanese maple group is very refined and is probably quite old. It doesn't really have a number one tree that stands out, but it works none the less. A wider, shallower glazed pot might be better and I think the moss should be removed from the base of the trees to reveal more nebari. This is a huge planting about three feet wide.

Olea europaea.  No, it's not planted on a rock, that is the trunk of the olive tree. The caliper at the soil line is about two feet. Talk about sumo! An interesting treatment using branches as if they were trees on a mountain. Very unusual. I like it. Excellent pot too.

Juniperus chinensis 'Foemina'. This is a really fine grove. Perfect tree placement, nice empty space, and soaring trunks make this one of the nicest group plantings I have ever seen. Look at the details in the base sections of the trunks. It's just like being in an old forest. You can almost hear the quietness.

Ulmus parvifolia. A fantastic old trunk on this Chinese elm, but the composition just doesn't work for me. My friends and I went round and round about how to change the front to make this better. This view sort of works but is still unsettling. There must be some way to make that trunk work!

Well that's it. Hope you enjoyed it. This is a show that you should attend if there is any possible way. It is always the fourth Saturday and Sunday in August in Santa Rosa CA at the Veterans Memorial Hall across from the Fairgrounds. Santa Rosa is about 90 minutes north of the Bay Area.

Comments

[bob]

Thanks for posting Brent. On my screen the captions are shorter in length than the pictures, and by the end are off by 4 pictures, making it hard to follow. Is it just me?

[Ray]

Looks fine with Internet Explorer. The captions line up perfectly with the images. Thanks for the awesome images Brent.

[Brent]

Bob

I appreciate the feedback. What browser are you using? It appears fine with FireFox.

Brent

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im using firefox too. wierd.

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