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Bonsai nare-do-well
Join Date: Jan-2003
Location: Summerville SC
Country: USA
Posts: 4,653
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Just a few points to make here. What I am talking about are not hard and fast rules. Not the law of the land. Just a discussion on how to force the viewer to see what you want them to see. Tricks to catch the eye.
The 2 illustrations I offered are just that Illustrations. They were designed to make an obvious point. In reality the focal point will be more subtle in your bonsai. The same goes with visual weight. The concept is much more important than the illustrations.
Spend some time on the internet looking at a bunch of real bonsai masterpieces. Things done by the great artists in bonsai.
When you look at each of those masterpieces ask yourself two important questions
1. Given the whole composition what did you first notice? What exactly caught your eye?
2. How was that done?
More than likely in each case you will find something that draws those eyes into the center of the composition. The whole composition, not just the tree. Include the pot etc. Is it balanced visually.
Something that pulls the eye away from the center throws everything out of kilter.
Could this be why everyone seems so interested in that lower left branch. Does it throw your eyes out of the composition. Move the focal point away from center.
If that branch wasn’t there or was shorter would the knot hole take on greater significance.
But as I said the illustrations I used were there to help explain the concept. A discussion on that concept is much more important than how to make that drawing a better bonsai .
One last thing. After you have studied several of those bonsai masterpieces go back and look at some lesser ones. Might even look at some of your own trees.
Do the lesser trees have something that throws your eyes out of the composition? Are those visual scales tilted to one side of the composition?
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