Pfitzer Juniper

RonMartin(deceased)

Much better.
That bit of Jin at the top looks a bit like a big T. (in the photo at least) Doing something with the left branch of it would work out a bit better I think. Shorten it up might help.
Other than that I like it a lot

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heymikey(deceased)

IMHO; David's styling is superb and Ron's pot preference is right on. All that is needed is a little time and pinching. heyMikey!!

Attached Images

post pfitzer virt ii-b.jpg (26.5 KB, 198 views)

Carl_Bergstrom

Hi David,

Nice tree, and impressive styling job!

To my eye, the vertical trunk seems to rob the tree of some of its potential dynamicism, and create an incongruity between base and apex.

Here is a virtual in which I've rotated the planting angle by about 10 degrees to the clockwise. I've bent the entire foliage mass another 8 degrees clockwise, and the I've bent the apex another few degrees clockwise. I don't show it in the virtual, but ideally I'd like to see the apex moving a bit more to the right, in harmony with the jin (which could be reduced somewhat, in my opinion.)

I've made the foliage outline a bit too equilaterial of a triangle, but perhaps this is sufficient to get the general idea across.

What do you think?

Best regards,
Carl

Attached Images

chauvin.jpg (38.2 KB, 190 views)

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FredL

David, you are amazing with Junipers! Nice tree; nice work.

It is particularly gratifying to see you achieving these results with this tree for me. Back in my California days, one of the focal events that really set me against my "Sensei" there was bringing a Pfitzer into class that I thought was kind of a nice tree with some definite possibilities and having him explain to the class what an ignoramous I was to imagine that a Pfitzer could ever be used for a bonsai. The same thing happened a few months later with a Monterey Pine that I brought in, but this time I was ready. The next month, I came to class and asked the President for just a few minutes to talk to the class. I then delivered a 10 minute dissertation on all that I had learned about Monterey Pines indicating what fine Bonsai they made.

Not surprizingly, my well informed and interesting talk did not endear me to our "Sensei".

Goodness, what a dislike I developed for that poor man! What a wizard he was with trees that he approved of! What a jerk he was with people he dissapproved of, which was most of us!

Your tree brought it all back.

Best regards, Fred

RonMartin(deceased)

Well Fred, like Jim Moody has told me on many occasions
"There are no bad trees . Only bad artists"
Guess there is some truth to that ;o)

dbz12fan

Carl,
Before I saw your post I started to make a virtaul of the same thing that you had done.

Ron,
Jim Moody is correct about that. But time is a factor in what he says. Some trees may need grafts and serious chops to make any future out of them. I'd say in a 20 year time frame you could make any tree presentable (I believe Jay brought this up before but I was too busy to get involved in that thread).

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Charles Bevan
Vero Beach, Fl

TreeBay

If there were no "bad trees" there could be no "good" ones either. Simple logic. Now we know there are good trees. I have seen quite a number this past week. I have also seen a few that (IMHO) weren't even worth photographing (I am not refering to this juniper).

Regards,

Matt

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RonMartin(deceased)

You just might be right about the "no good tree thing" Matt.
In all my 30 plus years in bonsai I have yet to see a tree that someone, somewhere couldn't find fault with it.
All one has to do is show their tree to one or more people and their will be things that must be changed. Things that are wrong. Real or imagined. But there will always be something wrong.
Seems like it is the natural thing for a bonsai person to do. Look for what is wrong. Must be in the jeans. ;o)
A few years ago I changed the way I looked at bonsai. I started looking for what was right about the tree, not what was wrong. I found that this was more enjoyable for me. It also allowed me to see "the whole picture" so to speak. The outline of the tree. The interplay of the different elements. I lost that tunnel vision. And it did cause me to like bonsai a whole lot better.
Not saying that the whole world is wrong am I am right. Just that I found a way that works for me. But then I am easily amused and not all that bright.
As my wife is constantly reminding me I AM ONLY A MAN.
By the way, I do find a lot of things done right on David's tree. This is why for the first time in a long time I posted anything on someone's tree. I do like what he has done.
But then that is only one mans opinion. About the same as every other critique ;o)
Yes I can make something from any tree set in front of me. Sometimes it is good bonsai and sometimes it is just firewood. But no one would agree with it either way. Something would still be wrong with the tree or the fire.
Hope most of you realize that this was written with a silly grin on my face.
Impress your self with your trees and just tolerate everybody else's opinion.

FredL

Interesting perspective, Ron. What I've noticed is that if I compare my trees to the great trees I see here on this forum and in other venues where the works of first rate artists are shown, I become unhappy. If I just look and admire great trees without judging mine against them, I experience enjoyment. If I look at them and try to learn from them, I experience education. If I look at my own trees and compare them to a year ago, I experience pride and satisfaction. If I look at them and try to apply what I've learned elsewhere, I feel stimulated to apply effort to them.

Seems like mostly I experience very positive things with my own trees and those of others. Only when I compare my trees to those of others do I get discouraged and negative about them and my efforts to improve them.

Fred.