Because Al asked

RonMartin(deceased)

Ok Al here you go. Four of them. Have a ball. I like them all but, I promise this time I will listen to your pearls of wisdom.
Everybody else is also free to comment on these trees. I am open for suggestions

Attached Images

	a.jpg (61.6 KB, 151 views)
	b.jpg (55.3 KB, 182 views)
	c.jpg (35.6 KB, 157 views)
	d.jpg (33.6 KB, 154 views)

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bonsaial1

Ah oh..Ron missed the boat on the post too. The exercise was for you to do a self examination on your own trees. Just like I did on my own. I asked for full critique or comments after I finished with my post. I would very much like to hear how the forum members feel about their own trees.

I respect the work you do, and I hope you have taken none of this personal, it is not meant that way. It all about the trees. You just happen to be the current owner of the first trees we talked about. I will do a critique of these trees after you have finished with yours. I wanted to have a look at the forest, and was hoping to see that in the first batch. In fact these all look like much better bonsai at first glance.

I feel if you really sit down and take a hard long look at your own stuff, judge it on the merits of what bonsai is all about, you will find that the critique I gave hit home on many points. I am almost sure we will hit on many of the same aspects on this current bunch. If we agree I will say so, that way we know were on the same page.

Trust me you will have fun judging your own trees. In fact sometimes you have to go sip a cocktail and slow down. Next thing you know your ready to throw the damn thing away.

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Real men don't wear coats with "happi" in the title.

breefe

I really don't want to be one of the first posters. But no fear is a good motto. Here is my two cents, which is worth that much...

I like each of the groupings...The third picture-a grouping, seems a little bland to me. This is me speaking artistically. It may be from mis-matching sizes in the grouping, some larger trees are covering others. It simply could be that they are a little young and need to fill out. Which time would be the solution.

Really nice "landscape" on the last group. It lookes quite well balanced, the "floor" does at least.(I'll probably never get over how nice it looks..)

So, there is my "constructive criticism" before this may get ugly.

Have a nice day...
Randall...

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"His government....I think he was talking about two sock puppets and a beanie baby."

RonMartin(deceased)

This one will not get ugly. At least mot on my part. Promise

breefe

Sounds good Ron...
Actually...Would you mind sitting down and try and critique at least one of those 4 pieces? I would really like to see what your personal opinion of each is...

__________________
"His government....I think he was talking about two sock puppets and a beanie baby."

RonMartin(deceased)

Actually Al in this case I was hoping to have your input. I see my trees all the time and am constantly doing self critiques on them. I know that you have a thread going on self critiques but this was not intended to be a part of that one.
Last time I posted pictures of my trees I was asking people to second guess Brook. Try to anticipate his comments.
This time I am actually looking for a constructive critique on these trees.
No hard feelings on my part Al. Like you said it is all about the trees.

RonMartin(deceased)

Tickles me. Last time I posted pictures words flew. This time everyone seems a bit hesitant. Even if I did promise not to get ugly.
But if you insist.
The black olive forest was done July before last at Jupiter Bonsai as a demonstration by myself. It has been posted on this forum several times before.
It is as some would call it in "the sensuous" style. To me it is more of a modified penjing. More of a Chinese influence that Japanese. It was actually inspired by some of the pictures that I saw in "The Wonderful of Penjing" by Zaho.
I personally like the flow of the trunks. The foliage needs to be a tiny bit fuller but that isn't always possible when working with black olives.
I like the shape of the pot but think that it needs to be a shade or two lighter in color. But this one will do as it comes as close as I can get to what I wanted.The color seems to only bother me anyway.
That good enough

breefe

That one I didn't have any visual problems with really. I also like the movement of the whole group, a little bulky in the trunks, but time will help. I had to go into your gallery to get a good look at it, it has a nice visual balance from top to bottom.

Are you planning anything else, or just letting it grow and then refine more. A new pot...maybe a new "floor?"

When is anything ever good enough I don't want/mean to pester, but developing an "eye" of my own...

Randall

__________________
"His government....I think he was talking about two sock puppets and a beanie baby."

RonMartin(deceased)

The foliage is now just about as thick as it will get on a black olive. Letting it grow will only make the foliage a bit sparser looking. The pot itself is almost 30 inches wide. If I let the trees grow too much then the pot will need to be bigger. Not only a high dollar item but more difficult to handle.
The major branching needs to be a bit thicker and I do hope to live long enough to see that happen. It will take a while