Bonsai Open - 2023

[Grant Bowie]

A good bonsai is not an overnight thing, it takes years of work and is an outcome of hard work, vision maintained, plus experience.

Below I am working on my tree down to the enth degree I am cutting off the tips of any individual leaves that show any discolouration that may come in Autumn on older leaves.

Also my newest best friend. Jemma the cattle dog. She is a rescue dog, now owned by my sister in law. I have been claimed it would appear.

Grant

4ECD766A-71DD-49A8-987D-892E74A6B3EF.jpeg

F1BB339B-2BC9-41D3-A6F8-3995A98DEEF2.jpeg

[Grant Bowie]

What I am saying is; It doesnt matter whether the person is professional or not. I have known some “professional growers or artists” that couldn’t make a decent bonsai out of a good material. It’s the amount of time spent and skill mod the artist, so they are all equal.

[KIRKY]

Great tree Grant. That’s the bestest, best friend you can get
Cheers
Kirky

[Grant Bowie]

Hi all, The show was opened this morning and the quality of the trees overall is quite good. I was particularly taken by a Juniper that came second in the novice section. It was styled very nicely, all work seemed good and displayed in a clean and well thought out way. I don’t know who owns the tree but I think they have a good future in Bonsai.
The winning tree, a corky bark Black pine is magnificent and displayed in an immaculate way, Congrats to Sam.
I hope they put up all the photos, I was also impressed with 2 defoliated tres, One a big Olive with serious ramification and a Large, Multi trunk Chinese Elm.

Grant

[Grant Bowie]

1D952CB2-C8FB-49C3-B25B-19E0CC521002.jpeg

A lovely all round display and winning tree, Obviously the tree caught the eyes of the judges and its presentation, age, refinement and skilled work that went into the tree over many years elevated this tree above the others.

Unfortunately i heard the usual unhelpful comments from minor gurus,” if this branch was moved here it would be better etc” by one person who didn’t even have a tree in the show. Very disappointing to continue to hear this sort of crap.In my opinion.

Grant

[BonsaiBobbie]

1D952CB2-C8FB-49C3-B25B-19E0CC521002.jpeg

A lovely all round display and winning tree, Obviously the tree caught the eyes of the judges and its presentation, age, refinement and skilled work that went into the tree over many years elevated this tree above the others.

Unfortunately i heard the usual unhelpful comments from minor gurus,” if this branch was moved here it would be better etc” by one person who didn’t even have a tree in the show. Very disappointing to continue to hear this sort of crap.In my opinion.

Grant

Ha ha.

I hope that one day I am considered a minor guru!

Love your work Grant!

Thanks for helping keep this “sport” accessible for the rest of us n

[Sno]

1D952CB2-C8FB-49C3-B25B-19E0CC521002.jpeg

Unfortunately i heard the usual unhelpful comments from minor gurus,” if this branch was moved here it would be better etc” by one person who didn’t even have a tree in the show. Very disappointing to continue to hear this sort of crap.In my opinion.

Grant

I don’t know about the branch placement , but I think if people don’t want criticism of their work they shouldn’t enter a competition or put it on public display . Every time I show one of my trees I am happy to hear any comments good or bad and whether they are from an ‘expert ‘ or not .

[PeterH]

As a minor guru myself ( in my own mind),

I agree with Sno and I see it as part of the human condition to be competitive. As we now, everybody has an opinion. It just a matter of how educated that opinion is.

The opinions are what helps me develop as an amateur Bonsai hobbyist.

Kind Regards,

Peter

[TimS]

Agree with snow to be honest, constructive criticism is always welcome for me, I like to hear what others think would improve my trees to gain experience and other viewpoints. Obviously just saying a tree is arse biscuits isn’t helpful to anyone, but a potential branch removal/ front change/ plant angle change im thankful to hear

I’m that vein I say I’d love to see more of that beautiful barked up trunk on that pine

[TimIAm]

Constructive feedback is good and as expected, you're going to get comments if you put something on public display.

I think (don't want to speak for him) where Grant is coming from is trying to encourage us all to move away from dissecting and critiquing a work of art based on formulas, patterns and memes.

I wouldn't go to a show and critique a tree based on a set formula because I would assume the artist chose (whether through will or ignorance) something that they believed was better than the formula. If it was the winning tree, not following whatever rule they were breaking obviously worked. Sometimes (not always) criticizing a work of art based on a formula actually shows ignorance of the artists intent, because it's possible to fall into the trap of not asking "why did they do it differently" instead of just seeing a fault in the pattern. In this way, you completely miss the "art" aspect of bonsai.

[TimS]

I’d be curious to know the reasoning behind the long needles; is it a species that isn’t prone to good needle length reduction? Was it a conscious choice to rebel against the trend of Uber short needles? Why choose to hide the trunk with such dense foliage? Not hating, just goes against common conventions with pine and has me wondering

[treeman]

I’d be curious to know the reasoning behind the long needles; is it a species that isn’t prone to good needle length reduction? Was it a conscious choice to rebel against the trend of Uber short needles? Why choose to hide the trunk with such dense foliage? Not hating, just goes against common conventions with pine and has me wondering

It's quite difficult to get short needles on a nishiki

[TimIAm]

I'm also curious as to why the trunk is hidden, but it's also possible that if you move slightly right it opens up completely. Photo was taken from a slight left angle.

I'd definitely like to see more pictures. With bonsai, one picture can be deceiving. It must have something special to be the winner.

[TimS]

I’d be curious to know the reasoning behind the long needles; is it a species that isn’t prone to good needle length reduction? Was it a conscious choice to rebel against the trend of Uber short needles? Why choose to hide the trunk with such dense foliage? Not hating, just goes against common conventions with pine and has me wondering

It's quite difficult to get short needles on a nishiki

Cheers for the insight Mike, appreciate it

[Keep Calm and Ramify]

I'm also curious as to why the trunk is hidden, but it's also possible that if you move slightly right it opens up completely. Photo was taken from a slight left angle.

I'd definitely like to see more pictures. With bonsai, one picture can be deceiving. It must have something special to be the winner.

from the Newcastle Bonsai Society face book page - check it out for a few more pics

334683982_139980645370699_2006317472541823191_n.jpg

334640827_492855802871392_9015712408123366855_n.jpg

331809158_199291212786040_4303275325971110110_n.jpg