AusBonsai

A few updates on trees I've been working away on quietly in the background

1. Blaws Juniper - originally purchased from Bonsai South about 3 years ago. Great piece of material that had been sitting in Leong's nursery but hadn't been given serious attention in many years but with thousands of trees to look after I can see how Leong could struggle to get to them all. I purchased this guy and left the nursery seeing a big smile on Leong's face as i think he has excited to see what it would become in my hands. Hopefully he's happy with that I've done
This is a Swamp Cypress I've been working on for 3 years from raw stock. All of the deadwood has been artificially created and will improve with time. The crown needs a little more development and refinement which should come within the next 12 to 18 months. Below is a Chines elm i've been working on for about 3 years also. It's still about 2-3 seasons away from having the ramification density i'm after however, it's progressing quite nicely thus far.
Comments/Critiques are welcome.

I noticed the Mirai T-shirt you've got on. Did Ryan do the initial styling, because it looks like his style?

Really nice trees Dave . That swampie looks cool ,you have done a great job with the carving . Do you have any before shots ? Thanks for showing us .
Cheers Craig

evan wrote:I noticed the Mirai T-shirt you've got on. Did Ryan do the initial styling, because it looks like his style?

No he didn't but I study with Ryan quite frequently so perhaps his style has rubbed off

Hello Dave,

Brilliant - the trees, the forest landscape set-out, the pots, the backdrop, the.... just Great Work.

"3 plants, 3 years, working away quietly in the background".

How many more do you have in your collection?

Thanks for sharing and inspiring - really 3 years.

Kevin

Lovely movement in those trees Dave. Love the slab and how you have placed the rocks creating a convincing natual landscape, The photography does justice to your trees. V nice.

Sent from my SM-T530 using Tapatalk

What beautiful bonsais! I'm loving those pots too, they complete the scene for me.

Thanks for sharing.

Kevin wrote:Hello Dave,

Brilliant - the trees, the forest landscape set-out, the pots, the backdrop, the.... just Great Work.

"3 plants, 3 years, working away quietly in the background".

How many more do you have in your collection?

Thanks for sharing and inspiring - really 3 years.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin, appreciate those kinds words. Yes I've been working away quietly, but I have indeed been busy
I can't take all the credit for the Juniper forest thought, as I said, it was originally created by Leong from Bonsai South, although I have made some significant changes to it over the years, mainly in relation to lightening the composition by branch removal, improving the flow and movement.. . Here are a few progress shot of it over the past few years. This was back in June 2014
This was May this year, right before it was worked on


How many trees do I have in my collection? Well it would have to be close to 100 at the moment, all varying species, from Junipers to elms, plums, JBPs, Azaleas and most recently, a nice batch of native collected paperbark tea trees. Here are a few pics of a few trees that will be coming in the neat future

The below Sabina (i think) Juniper was purchased from KCPoole (Ken I think his name is from memory??? )I believe it was that was about to be bulldozed in a local netball court before it was recused. These are amateur progress shots that I ordinarily keep for myself and not for public display..but since you asked, I'll share. I still think the pot I had made is a little large so I might be getting another one made a touch smaller in the future. The last pic was taken just after I slip potted it this year at the beginning of summer so I'll re-post a photo after I work on it again in about a month.
Post First Styling Post Slip Potting December 2015 Ohh, I found a progress photo of the above twin trunk Swampy, post first styling and initial carving (excuse the horrendous wiring ) Below are a few of the paperbark tea trees that will have their first styling done probably a little later this year. Vigor of foliage and root growth in under 5 months is quite astonishing, very, very fast growing species.

What lovely trees and excellent progression with them.
Thanks for posting the juniper because it great to see what can be done with collected pieces like that, I have 2 specimens left and need to be worked on soon.

the mels look real nice too. be interested to see what you crete from them.

Ken

Hey Ken / Kcpoole,

Nice to hear from you and thanks for the encouragement.

Yes, those Juni's you collected were absolute crackers. Very fast growing and great foliage to work with.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with yours !

Hello Dave,

Thanks for the follow up and all the images. I enjoyed the history behind your trees and their transformations.

Looking forward to viewing more of your work when available and as Ken said your collected Melaleucas have some character.

After viewing your beautiful trees this morning and learning you had studied with Ryan i was inspired to look up the MiraiBonsai website.

WOW, hasn't Ryan done some fantastic things with his life, he also comes across as a great man.

This also caught my eye:
(EDIT Deleted an image and some follow up text)
Mirai looks like a beautiful place to study.

(re: deleted image) just wish it was my boofhead.

Kevin

Kevin wrote:Hello Dave,

Thanks for the follow up and all the images. I enjoyed the history behind your trees and their transformations.

Looking forward to viewing more of your work when available and as Ken said your collected Melaleucas have some character.

After viewing your beautiful trees this morning and learning you had studied with Ryan i was inspired to look up the MiraiBonsai website.

WOW, hasn't Ryan done some fantastic things with his life, he also comes across as a great man.

This also caught my eye:
(EDIT Deleted an image and some follow up text)
Mirai looks like a beautiful place to study.

(re: deleted image) just wish it was my boofhead.

Kevin

Thanks Kevin

Yep, Ryan is a top fella, super talented, hard working and humble. Here are a few other Mirai pics to wet your appetite even furrher!!!!

A monster Subalpine Fir Sierra Juniper Just some random rocky mountain juniper lying around @ Randy Knight's collecting depot..most people would give their left nut for one of these! No caption required The hot house Notice the pygmy cypress forest on the right? this tree featured quite heavily in the Artisan Cup promo video Ryan did.

Farout! You've got some real gems there mate!

Thanks for the inspiration, I am not going to torture a little tree..

Unbelievable Dave,

I've just had to get a clamp to hold my jaw up in an effort to stop it from dragging and drooling all over the floor.

As i mentioned before - " i wish it was my boofhead in a few of those photos".

Anyway, i'm pleased for you Dave, it appears you have melded strongly within the Mirai visions and made some incredible friendships along your journey.

Earlier i posted, then deleted a photo of you and Ryan, attained from the MiraiBonsai website. At the time i had second thoughts and unsure if appropriate to post. Anyway, here is that photo:
Kevin

Hey Kevin, yep I remember when that pic was taken. It was on my first visit and remember being so overwhelmed by the size of that tree. It took me over a day just to remove all the dead bark, it also cut my hands to shreds with all those spike like jins. I'm very fortunate to have been able to spend time with Ryan and acquire some skills and knowledge. We stay in regular contact and he is very interested in what we are doing in down under, especially with native yamadori. We are pretty determined to make the Artisans Cup happen here within the next 3-4 years