Lyrical and lovely, simple and uncontrived, aged looking and still fresh. The heart of Literati

The last few days we've been fumbling around trying to understand what makes a bonsai literati, or more accurately, what makes a penjing literati. Much of this fumbling takes place in our newsletter where we've been inviting others in to fumble along with us (you can subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of this post - It's Free!)

All the photos shown in this post are from Zhao Qingquan's Literati Style Penjing, the benchmark book on the topic. Zhao is recognized as one of the world's leading authorities on Penjing and also one of the world's foremost Penjing artists

We'll have more on Zhao, Penjing and Literati in our next newsletter (again you can subscribe below)

Literati penjing in an unglazed drum pot, something a Japanese bunjin artist might use

I like this one a lot. I think the pot gives it away as a penjing literati. I don't think a Japanese bunjin artist would ever use a pot like this. Other than that, I'm not sure I can tell the difference 

 This one has penjing literati written all over it

 Zhao's famous book is on Special at Stone Lantern 
as are all our books

 Feel free to email me if you have comments. Just be aware that we reserve the right to use your comments in our blog or in newsletter
wayne@stonelantern.com

Putting a dead bonsai to good use. This and the other photos shown here were taken by Bill Valavanis

Our last post was from the 4th Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition, now we've got some shots from this year's 5th Exhibition. All the photos in both posts are borrowed from Bill Valavanis' Welcome to My Bonsai World blog and they barely scratch the surface of the large number of exciting photos that Bill posted

 Because we want to encourage you to visit Bill's blog to see all the photos from Exhibition, I've pared Bill's photos down to just a few. focussing on individual Shohin bonsai and Shohin displays

Speaking of Bill and Shohin Bonsai, here's a reminder about his 2020 Shohin Bonsai Japan International Bonsai Exploration

I think I've seen this little Crabapple before. Or perhaps a close cousin?

 
The berries and leaves look like Cotoneaster

What a beautiful shohin display stand. The little trees aren't half bad either

Princess persimmon

Firethorn (Pyracantha) 

A rather unusual Shohin display stand. One of many distinctive stands that Bill features. Here's your link for them all and much more 

A near perfect penjing, bonsai or whatever you choose to call it. And the birds love it... John Naka is quoted as saying "Make your bonsai so the birds can fly through" The tree looks like a Shimpaku juniper. Perhaps it was collected in the Mountains of Taiwan where these are abundant

 All the photos shown here are from the 4th Zhongguo Feng Penjing Exhibition, courtesy of Bill Valavanis. Bill posted them on his Welcome to My Bonsai World blog, one of our favorites

A close look at the trunk and ground cover

Literati style Penjing. Literati dates back hundreds of years to when Chinese poets, artists and calligraphers were called Literati. Once you know this association with calligraphy, it's easy enough to see why (the Japanese word for this style is Bunjin - literati and bunjin are often used interchangeably by English speaking bonsai enthusiasts)

We just received the last 15 signed copies of
The Chinese Art of Bonsai & Potted Landscapes 
When these are gone, that's it!
Signed Copies Only 39.95
Unsigned Copies Only 19.95

 Three Authors, Three Signatures

I might be reluctant to call this one literati. It has the tall thin trunk with most of the branching toward the top that we associate with literati, but the abundance of rich foliage speaks of a life that's may be too soft for literati which are typically associated with the kind of hardship you might find on a cold, high mountain cliff or other inhospitable environs

Halloween tree. With a little imagination it might be scary. No variety is given

Bonsai candelabra with deadwood

 This Princess persimmon is Bill's favorite from the show

 For more photos and bonsai wisdom by Bill Valavanis, you can visit his Welcome to My Bonsai World blog

Here’s part of Harry Harrington's caption for this photo he took at the European Bonsai San Show last weekend "...a fantastic Pinus sylvestris/Scots Pine bonsai by Mauro Stemberger in an Eric Krisovensky pot." I cropped Harry's original (it's below) for a little closer look at the tree

I'm floored by the bonsai I've seen so far from the recent European Bonsai San Show. Not that I haven't been floored before by great bonsai, but these are the latest, so the excitement is fresh. Will the rest be this good, or did Harry Harrington cherry pick his favorites?  I'll let you know soon. Meanwhile, see if you can stay off of the floor

Same tree, different angle and a closer look at part of Eric Krisovensky's extraordinary hand built pot 

Close up. The bark and deadwood lend a feeling of age. Actually it's more than a feeling, the age is real. You can create aged looking deadwood if you're good enough, but you can't create aged bark

Harry's original photo 

Prize winning Potentilla. Time for a close up of tree number two (I cropped the original, just below). Here's part of Harry's caption... "the winner of the Bonsai4me award for ‘Best Deciduous Chuhin/Kifu Bonsai In Show... in a category for deciduous bonsai between 21 and 45cm in height... was a Potentilla fruiticosa bonsai by Jirka Novak in a bonsai pot by Klika Kuratkova" For the rest of the caption and much more, you can visit Harry on Facebook (see below for links)

This perfect small tree is worth at least two thumbs up. Particularly knowing how difficult it is to keep a Potentilla looking this good

Harry's original photo, with companion and...? 

 Another crop. This time for the detail on the trunk

 Here's your link to Harry on Facebook where these photos are from

You can also visit Harry at his Bonsai4Me website

And, if you like books, Harry has three good ones, two of which you can find at Stone Lantern

A dramatic before and after by Harry Harrington. Here's Harry's caption... "Studio shots of the Escallonia* bonsai I carved and styled last week as a commission. As can be seen, the trunk has an impressive 14”/36cm diameter base and the bonsai is now 24”/60cm in height overall. Can’t wait to see this one develop!"

It has been a while since we visited Harry Harrington. Just in case you don't know Harry, he is a well known and respected bonsai artist, teacher and author of three excellent bonsai books
Continued below...

Before. It helps to start with great stock, which might beg the question... 'could Harry have done less carving and relied more on what was already there?' 

Continued from above...
In addition to all around bonsai chops, Harry is especially known for his carving skills, which are reflected in the transformation of the tree shown here. Harry is also a student, tireless proponent and connoisseur of the art of bonsai (stay posted for Harry shots of other people's bonsai at Bonsai Sans, a major European bonsai expo)

Before. Close up of the trunk

After. Harry is known for his carving skills and he doesn't disappoint. However, some of our readers have expressed that they are not too enthusiastic about the bonsai carving 'revolution,' and I agree that sometimes less is more. But still...

A closer look

No caption necessary. Though I am curious about the T-shirt 

*Though Escallonia are native to North and South America, they are new to me 

 You can visit Harry on his Bonsai4Me website and on Facebook

All books at Stone Lantern are now on special. Including Harry's The Foundations of Bonsai
and Bonsai Inspirations 1, or the two as a set.  Inspirations 2 is currently out of stock

Here's Bill Valavanis caption for this brilliant bonsai... "Autumn colors are beginning in my garden. Today my American hornbeam was in peak color. Yuji Yoshimura originally started this bonsai a few decades ago. It looks good from both sides, as do some fine quality bonsai"

All six photos in today's post are courtesy of Bill Valavanis. The first three are his American hornbeam. Bill took the other three last month at the Pacific Bonsai Museum

 Scroll down for links and a heads up about Bill's 2020, 7th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition 

Early traces of fall color at the Pacific Bonsai Museum. Bill doesn't say what kind of tree it is, so we'll leave it at that 

Japanese maple with early fall colors. I imagine they're brighter by now

Meandering trunk. Here in Vermont Sumac fall colors are usually brilliant red. Looks like this one at the Northwest's Pacific Bonsai Museum has a good start 

While we're visiting Bill, a friendly reminder…
It’s time to make your plans. The 7th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition is the premier North American celebration of bonsai. The one event you don’t want to miss. And even though it's not until September 2020, if you're like some of us your calendar is already filling in for next year. And even if it's not, no harm in planting seeds. See you there!

 Speaking of the U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition (and of fall color) we still have the 6th Exhibition Album, and thanks to our current Book Special, it's now marked down from 69.00 to Only 49.95

For more great photos you can visit Bill on his Bonsai Blog and on Facebook

Shear power and character. It's a Saghalien spruce, as are all three trees in this post

The spruce of Hokkaido and the northern islands of Japan (and Russia) are renowned for their aged bark, small needles, adaptability to bonsai culture and overall beauty. This time it's four Saghalien spruce (Picea glenhii), which are sometimes confused with Ezo spruce (Picea jezoensis), though they are two distinct species
Continued below... 

A closer look at the trunk...

Continued from above...
Picea jezoensis versus Picea glehni. If you are interested and would like to explore the differences between these two spruce species, here's a link you might find helpful

... and closer still (apologies for the fuzz)

Another rugged trunk. This time it's full cascade style (the lowest point of the tree is below the bottom of the pot)

  A closer look at the trunk

Slanting style

A closer look

 Like the tree at the top, this one is an informal upright

 For more great photos from Kokufu and elsewhere, visit Kazumatsu Bonsai

The berries and leaves on this tiny tree look like they might belong to a pyracantha 

A little whimsical today, but kinda cool too. The whimsy is how tiny these little guys are, and I guess that's the cool part too (I know I'm light years from being a teenager, but somehow cool keeps slipping back into my vocabulary)

I found these photos in a place called World's Smallest Trees

 Another little one. Is it a crabapple?

I don't know how big this one is (no size or variety is given), but clearly it's nowhere near as small as the other two. It looks like another  pyracantha with new berries just forming. They're green now but should end up somewhere in the red to yellow range 

Doing the twist. I don't know why Pomegranates (Punica granatum) often tend to twist, but they do. I cropped the original photo (below) for an up close look

We've got a real treat for you today. If you like masterpiece bonsai that is. Or more specifically, masterpiece bare boned* deciduous bonsai  

Though there are now several top notch bonsai shows in this world, there are none quite like Kokufu, the granddaddy of them all. Kokufu is held annually and though no year is given with these photos, based on the trees I suspect they're from a recent exhibition

Magnificent. There's something about Japanese beeches (Fagus crenata). Interestingly (or maybe not) you seldom see them outside of Japan

Stewartias (Stewartia monadelpha) are so distinctive with their reddish bark, clean lines and strong nebari

Another distinctively Stewartia

Japanese maple (Acer palmatum var. matsumurae) with what looks like volcanic rock

Trident maple (Acer buergerianum) with three trunks. It's hard to tell if it's one tree (one root system) or two or maybe three individual trees, though it looks like two separate trees (left) were originally placed together because they fit so well

The original photo of the Pomegranate at the top of this post

  *Finally, we've got one with leaves, though they're almost at the end of their cycle. It's another Japanese beech 

For more great photos from Kokufu and elsewhere, visit Kazumatsu Bonsai

Before and after Mugo pine (Pinus mugo) by Pavel Slovák. Pavel doesn't say, but like the one we posted last week, this one looks like  a yamadori (bonsai collected from the wild) 

Just over a week ago we posted another before and after Mugo pine by Pavel Slovák. This one is much more compact with a dense contorted trunk that tells a story of long harsh years spent somewhere on a rugged mountainside

  A closer look at the before photo. The branches are rangy and will need to be reduced and there's also that aforementioned trunk that makes a strong statement about the tree's wild origins, but something that Pavel decided could use some help  

After. I think the new planting angle will be an improvement, though it's not that easy to tell how it will look until it's in its new pot.
Pavel's solution to the dense contorted trunk was to hide parts of it with foliage. You can still see enough to appreciate its years and power, but it's a bit softer this way. An elegant solution

Cropped for a closer look

With the proud artist. Trees almost always look smaller than they are until you see them with something (or someone) to provide scale

For more of Pavel's bonsai you can visit him here