Quickest Success intro to real Bonsai

[Wires_Guy_wires]

I think @River's Edge first comment covers it entirely.
I have bought only two 'bonsai' and the rest is either from nursery stock, backyards or the wildlands. Please note that I have an extensive horticultural, biochemical and potted culture background. So that was a matter of applying what I already knew into a smaller pot with a different medium.

The more experienced I get, the better material I seem to find (and the easier it is to leave long-term material at the nursery).
The better I train myself at wiring and styling, the better my eye for style develops; more windows open and more views allow themselves to be presented. I've had trees that were crappy, and I wanted to toss them until I trained myself to see future development and hacking back a 3ft tall bush to a shohin.
If I would've went out and straight up murdered 50 trees by overstyling them, I would've been miles beyond where I am now. Design wise that is.

Me and mr Smoke have never been good buddies, but he was right when he said "Just do the work" and I just didn't want to hear it. I had to take two extra years of work to understand what he meant.

Learning how to water, repot and wire are the most important skills. I think pruning, maintenance and grafting are three key skills that will help anyone, and they're fairly easy to pick up.

Taking care of cuttings is cool, it's a good basis. But it doesn't necessarily help your bonsai journey forward at this time. It's a good tool to have in your bag. Same goes for seeds and seedlings. But if the goal is to have bonsai fast, then I believe it's good to get a bunch of nursery stock and just start wiring. Look for the smallest convincible tree within a larger bush and boom, you have a bonsai.

 

[River's Edge]

I think it goes back to learning any trade or profession, early emphasis on training, serious emphasis on practice. Along with the experience and a steady quest for improvement will show results. Some of the skills take considerable practice, at least for me. The most obvious one is wiring and I feel there is always room for improvement.
Some activities that I find very helpful in trying to improve.
1. Study high quality trees in person if possible, through pictures otherwise. I make it a habit to review old publications of major shows to study specific examples of species I am working with. A lot can be gained from observation of design, planting angles, pot combinations, pad formation, etc. Attend Shows, visit top display gardens, tour professionals gardens when possible.
2. Spend time working on your craft as often as possible. Take a break if your work becomes less than careful at times. Practice correctly, a little bit of improvement each time adds up quickly.
3. Try to finish what needs doing before placing the tree back on the bench. Otherwise I tend to take quite a while to get back to that particular task. LOL Actually I tend to forget and move on to something else.

 

[River's Edge]

I trained myself to see future development and hacking back

This is a critical point of progress for many, gaining the confidence to select what to remove and what to retain with an understanding that development of growth will result in moving in the desired direction.
A very helpful activity to promote this aspect is the practice of taking progressive pictures of trees under development. Looking back at earlier stages and the middle stages leading to a refined Bonsai can be very beneficial. Some of the best Bonsai publications often show this process.

 

[River's Edge]

I don't really get the vitriol (LOL?) or the point here. Seems you have some kind of ax to grind. I never said anything about the "epicentre of bonsai skills" or that fundamental skills have been forgotten. Logically, your post is a train wreck. You said refinement skills are 'window dressing' yet somehow they still have value and they DO teach some valuable things that working on developing stock won't. So it's mostly a distinction without a difference. Find another punching bag...

"Bonsai embodies a reverential spirit." right Mark. No vitriol, no punching bag, just another point of view! Poorly expressed in your opinion but that is fine by me, I am not a professional writer.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I vote for joining a club, also. Weekend, casual workshops with club members works very well. Never do anything to a tree that you're not 90 percent plus sure of what's going to happen. If you're not, ask, read, research until you are more sure. MUCH better to not do something than to do something harmful.