Chinese Elm and Accent

[Watto]

Just a quick photo of a twin trunk Chinese Elm that I have been playing with for a while. As I was taking its annual photo I thought I might try and sneak in an accent that is going OK at the moment.
Cheers

[bodhidharma]

What you have there Watto is a conversation piece When i first saw it i loved it and then intellect kicked in and i started studying it. I started questioning its correctness and then i saw flaws. So i had to take myself back to first impressions and its impact. Thanks for the trip i really enjoy your tree (and accent)

[siddhar]

Very nice Elm Watto, the two make a lovelty composition. It is funny bodhi, before I read your statement my first reaction was to find fault in the tree But in looking at the tree from its first impressions on me, I find no fault in how this composition looks in my eyes. Well done. I really love how the flowers on the accent are reaching out to the left (My left). BTW the pot the Elm is in, is a winner

[Steven]

Nice and natural looking Watto! Like Diederik said, it breaks rules and works
How long have you been growing it?

Regards,
Steven

[Handy Mick]

Wonderfull tree there Watto, I would like to see it in the bark soon.
Cute accent

Mick

[Watto]

Thanks for the kind compliments gents.
This tree was grown from a cutting about 20 years ago and has had a journey with me ever since. It has been "in pot" air layered twice (and might yet be a third) and has always been grown in a pot.
It has inverse taper (that's a no no), parrallel first branches (two no no's there), two trunks almost the same height and width (another two no no's) and a couple of other faults but if you can't see them I'm not saying. But the thing about this tree is I LIKE IT! And that's what bonsai is all about.
The current pot is a one off hand made Pat Kennedy that he made especially for this tree and that's one of the positives the tree has. I think the other positives are it has good height to width ratio, good branch ramification, very small leaves, good tree size to pot size ratio, it is showing age, and probably a couple more that I can't think of.
Oh the art of breaking rules!!!!!!

[cre8ivbonsai]

I wonder, when breaking "the rules" do two "no nos" make a "yes, no, but" what I mean is when we break a "rule" it ofter means compromising other "rules" as well, however I think that as long as we (as the artist) are comfortable the direction and result, we can justify that rules are there only to guide. Art sometime takes us on a different journey than the one planned in structure, then it becomes about enjoyment rather than analysis.

Rule or not, the way that the twin trunks almost mirror each other, turn for turn, is quite unique. And although the bottom branches are parallel, they are not from the same trunk, and therefore not as distracting or as structurally problematic as a conventional "bar branch" situation. The overall outline work well too! As for other rules, nature doesn't have these rules, we impose them, sometimes to the detriment of the tree and even to the artistic merit itself. Nice to see something different (and more naturally diverse)! And, as always, love the PK pot too Is the accent pot Australian made as well?

Cheers, Ryan

[Watto]

The pot colour is supposed to match the trunk colour and I think Pat has done a fine job.
The accent plant pot is a cheap Chinese but looks OK.
I'm usually quite conventional but its good to a rule breaker occcassionally.

[Guy]

-can it be improved?

[Bretts]

Yes an interesting and unique tree Good stuff Watto!
But I agree with Guy I think the important question is can it be improved.
If I got my hands on it the first thing I would look at doing is moving the base of the right branch forward and maybe up a little, or at least work at filling that branch out more to the front. Also a branch higher up on the right should be increased in foliage towards the front. I think this would go a long way in increasing the depth of the composition and the pigeon breast would be a much better feature.
If it looks right then no rule has been broken

Then more wire and more pruning