Some pine work

[kez]

Hey folks,

Here is some work I did today on a small JBP i have. This is an odd tree so the styling isn't exactly straight forward and my initial work was done when I was less experienced style wise but I think i have made an improvement. I posted a pic of this tree elsewhere but I thought I would start a new thread to show the changes.

Work done today was removal of any excess branches coming from the same spot anywhere on the tree, taking all branching back to a fork, re wiring/branch placement and bud selection for the coming growing season. This is one of the tree's I have put into the JBP study and the only JBP I have done any bud selection on this autumn, the rest of them will all be taken back to last years needles come next summer to work on needle reduction.

Here's a pic before work today (as you can see, not a straight forward tree)

IMG_1411 (800x533).jpg

an after today

IMG_2021 (800x533).jpg

Any thoughts as always most welcome

Kerrin

[Neli]

Are you happy with the trunk thickness? You might consider grafting a branch bellow the ffirst one to use as sacrifice branch to create some thickness in the trunk while you are developing the rest.

[kez]

Wow, nearly 2 years since the last update on this tree....

Well, this is as much a progression of my bonsai development as the trees,

I left this one alone since the last pics, no work done at all this summer just gone or the summer before as I was busy with other larger trees and I was unhappy with the initial direction I have taken this tree.

It's funny how no matter what area of bonsai time is the greatest factor in improvement
Here's the tree as it stood nearly 2 years on from the pics above

IMG_4303 (1024x683).jpg

If nothing else it's healthy!

And here it is now

IMG_4310 (1024x683).jpg

Everything about this progression has come from time,

I hope you all enjoy

Kerrin

[melbrackstone]

Wow, love what you've done to it!!

[Piscineidiot]

Bloody hell. Goes to show what a good eye, technical skill and some knowledge can do with an otherwise unimpressive tree. Great work, Kerrin!

[kcpoole]

Love the new angle
I always tell people to tip them over to get a better idea of the possibilities.
one could almost think you had that planned all along

Ken

[Nate.bonsai]

You certainly have an eye for it Kerrin. You are fast becoming our own pine 'magician'.


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[Mojo Moyogi]

Hi Kerrin, once again, I like seeing your work and the way you find possibilities that others would have missed

The new angle is a winner, but I can't help thinking what this tree would look like without the cascading branch and with a little less straightness in the trunk below that.

Cheers,
Mojo

[kez]

Thank you so much for the kind words folks,

Like I said above I see this tree as an example of what happens when you give a tree, and yourself time to develop, new possibilities that just weren't there before

Anyway I got this tree into a pot today,

IMG_4315 (1024x683).jpg

Mojo,

I see what you mean about the the straightness in the main trunk but it is a little thick to bend, and I think in the pot it is easier to see the direction of the tree without being distracted by the black plastic pot but I would be glad to see what you and others think of this next step

Once again thanks folks,

Kerrin

[melbrackstone]

I thank Mojo for his suggestion that the trunk is too straight, because that got me thinking.

Where would you bend it, and how, with such a short bit of trunk...

I watched this Ryan Neil workshop last week, and wonder if you'd ever tried this technique Kez. Or even would you try it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKRggKq6Ask

[kcpoole]

A bending jack, or length of Reo bar and block.
Plenty of ways to bend it and get some of the straightness out of it.

Ken

[melbrackstone]

A bending jack, or length of Reo bar and block

It looks like such a short length of trunk though, I'd be struggling to bend it, I reckon. Most of the bends I've seen done have been on much larger material, with plenty of handholds...lol.

Thanks Ken

[Jamie]

Very nice work from what you had and then now i cant see exactly but i would like to see the nebari in saying that i am not puting the tree dow in anyway this is ment as a guide but my concern are inverted taper. May not be the case but because all the tree is basically coming from the one or two main trunk line this might happen. Reverse taper is a killer to fix but there are methods including grafting a young sappling close to nebari and use it as a a sacrifice till u get the trunk back ibto line then you could use the sacrifice as jin

Great little tree with lots of potential i like it

[kez]

just going through updating some old threads

IMG_5740 (1280x853).jpg

I dont think I candle cut this tree this season, just removed last seasons needles

Cheers,

Kerrin

[Andreas]

nice work