When we look at bonsai at the various shows, on line, in books etc we may think something is not quite right. Many if not all of the trees could appear to us as clones of each other or very similar to many others we have seen. As if they had been developed according to a set of rigid rules. Why is this? Well it's because they were! Perhaps they might not look like trees to us. I will show some examples of what I mean further on.
What is the first thing you think of when you have fresh material in front of you? After you have determined the best front, Is it ''What kind of tree is this and how does it grow''? or is it ''Where is the first/main branch and how far down should it go''? If you're like the most of us it will be the second. It's not surprising because that's basically how we're all taught or learn. The problem as I see it is that once we are in this comfortable mode we get suck in it - sometimes forever. It then becomes very difficult to look at things with a fresh mind. It is almost as if we need to throw out everything we know and begin as if it's the first time....but not quite!....More on that later.
Is styling a tree like this wrong? No I don't think you can say any form of art is wrong. However I do believe there is good art and bad art and probably everything in between. It is, or should be, a personal choice. However sometimes the choice is made for us by someone who ''knows better''.
We cannot really criticise the beginner. Mostly they follow the directions of the various native and imported demonstrators who themselves usually follow the same rigid set of rules that were taught to them. They work in an almost instinctual manner. The result of this can only be more of the same. Is all this really important? Depends on how you look at. To some evrything is as it should be and we only need to perfect what we have learned. My feeling is that if we are to push this particular art form to greater heights we should be constantly reevaluating what we are doing.
Many would have heard or read John Naka's cleaver adage; ''Don't make the tree look like a bonsai, make the bonsai look like a tree'' There is a lot to be gained from contemplating that simple statement and I agree with it more and more. Unfortunately from what I've seen, Naka did not practice what he preached. That is completely understandable. After you have shaped countless dozens of trees in a particular way, breaking new ground requires a lot of thought and contemplation. The reason is that we automatically visualise a bonsai in the material and promptly go about bringing out. Preferably in as short a time as possible! And the tree we visualise is usually exactly the same as a handful of forms already burned into our minds. Trying to visualise a true - sometimes more abstract - natural tree form, leaves us totally lost.
I should also acknowledge Walter Pall for his unending quest to convince the general bonsai comminity that we should as much as possible consider approaching bonsai design in a more natural way. I disagree with his attemps to classify bonsai according to style and I think his examples on another forum only serve to demonstrate how confused and highly subjective that particular endeavor is. He uses the word ''naturalistic'' to illustrate his points and as much as I dislike to categorize it is a useful description in this discussion.
So let's look at some pics. The first time I thought about this subject was in 2002 after seeing a picture of a Western Juniper in Thomas Pakenam's ''Remakable trees of the world''. A dwarfed tree in Yosemite National Park. A ''broom style'' Juniper! What a concept! This would make an outstanding bonsai but who would dream of doing it!?
Then after looking at some pics of natural growing scots pines I thought the same.
Most of the scots pine bonsai I have seen look like bonsai and to be precise, they look like Japanese White or Black Pine bonsai. Nothing really like the natural tree. I have read that some practitioners say that bonsai have nothing to do with trees. In one way it is true that making a bonsai an exact copy of a natural tree does not work due to the scale factor. A feature that may be appealing in a full sized tree can be a real eyesore when brought down to the scale of a bonsai. With this in mind, I believe there is a ''sweet middle ground'' to be discovered where we can take the great and wild natural feature of the real tree, remove what does not work and incorporate this into our bonsai.
Scots Pine bonsai
Scots pine trees The same could be said of all kinds of species. Natives included. Well that should be enough to get the ball rolling. I've got to go water!!
for what it is worth.
file, or 3 minutes to boot. It's sooooooo slow! 
