名媛直播

Don't get me wrong, I think bonsai trees are beautiful. for example, this one:





But, you see, I know bonsai is about creating a small tree that captures nature at its best, along with many other things, but I never see trees in the wild or in nature that look like this. For example this is an oak tree (from bonsai empire, ), it looks beautiful, and is a painting, that lives, but I never see an oak tree look like this. When I see an oak tree, I see something like this ( ):







Dare I question this wonderful art, but this is one thing I do not get, it goes for many tree species, not just oaks. when I see bonsai, I see a majestic tree, but not a realistic one. please, post your thoughts that relate to my thoughts. i just want to know how people react to this thought. thank you.

There's a limit as to what one can do with a potted plant - in this environment nature and natural growth can only be imitated, never fully achieved.

Dave

I agree with dave

If i look at the bonsai it tells a story thats it have bin struck by lightning,
not all trees are struck by lightning but if you look good i bet you find one.

how about these trees.

Ah, OK, i think i am getting it know. You cant fully acheive the full natural look ? (correct if wrong) due to it being in a pot. Ok and there is a story of bonsai which says they have been struck by lightning. Thanks guys, at least i get it a lot more. One more question, if i tried hard enough, would i be able to make a realistic looking oak in a pot, maybe not bonsai but as something to try?

bob wrote: Dare I question this wonderful art, but this is one thing I do not get, it goes for many tree species, not just oaks. when I see bonsai, I see a majestic tree, but not a realistic one.

You just said it. The difference in bonsai and Nature is that bonsai is an art form that goes along with certain guidelines.
Nature has no guidelines, but is just all about survival of the fittest.
So shapes in nature are like that not because it wants to but because it has to, for survival.
As for bonsai it's just a reflection of an artist his imagination and his vision of perfect nature.

Okay, i think that sums it up. I get it fully now, its just like painting or sculptures, you can change how things look so they can look more attractive, basically art. Thank you.

bob wrote: but I never see an oak tree look like this

Look at the photo. Try to miniaturize it to an exact copy in bonsai format. Now try to calculate how tiny the branches would have to be. It is physically impossible to do this. 名媛直播 is not an exact copy of a tree, it is an impression, where some of the features are exaggerated, to make the impression stronger.

Dare I question this wonderful art, but this is one thing I do not get, it goes for many tree species, not just oaks. when I see bonsai, I see a majestic tree, but not a realistic one. please, post your thoughts that relate to my thoughts. i just want to know how people react to this thought. thank you.

Look a bit harder. There is a 'naturalistic' style. Check this page, where bonsai have been photoshopped into a real landscaped.
I think they look perfectly realistic.

Ahh!! you have not left

Yes, cool link, i think i remember walter paul. I get what you are saying about the branches being to thin. I get it now. Thanks

By the way if any of you want to see some great pictures of trees vs bonsai check my FB page I posted a link there. the resemblance is amazing.

You can find me under: chrisv bonsai.

After that I would like to debate more about bonsai not looking natural enough

Well yeah, I found this an interesting question.

I think:
- Certain trees can absolutely be trained as bonsai, creating a very realistic image. The second and third photo Orlando posted are good examples of real sized trees, I can easily imagine a bonsai that looks pretty much like that. It won't be a simply scaling it down, there will be differences, but it will be realistic.
- Certain trees can be trained as bonsai, but an exact copy will not be possible, so the tree will be an impression of its bigger version, exaggerating certain features to make the tree look interesting.

Imagine miniaturizing this tree and putting it in a pot. It would not look interesting, the trunk would seem tiny, it wouldn't even look realistic, so you would exaggerate certain features, like the trunk (while many trees in nature actually don't have such tapered trunks):

[img]http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/Ash_Tree_-_geograph.org.uk_-_590710.jpg/220px-Ash_Tree_- _geograph.org.uk_-_590710.jpg[/img]

Perspective plays a big role, bonsai are (often) designed as seen from below - you are looking up the tree, the perspective causes the trunk to appear smaller, the higher you look. Here's an interesting article: