Ryan Neil's updated Website

[bonsai66]

I believe the second juniper was styled by Jason Gamby under the supervision of WP.
http://jasonsbonsai.blogspot.com/2008/07/walter-palls-visit.html

Yes, I do believe it was Jason Gamby, also check Jason's blog.
you might find a collected and styled vine maple Ryan has, by Jason as well

 

[JasonG]

Yes, I do believe it was Jason Gamby, also check Jason's blog.
you might find a collected and styled vine maple Ryan has, by Jason as well

Thank you bonsai66 and RedDog. Yes, I did all the work on that tree with Walter there to encourage me and make me do things I wouldn't have done without him there.

The maple, I collected and styled. Ryan repotted it and trimmed it up a bit after the deer did some trimming. There are others there that were mine too.....

I will be back soon....big things in bonsai for me coming spring 2015. Time to start over from scratch, more focused than ever

And to stay on topic.....Ryans site is nice and he is doing things that aren't done in American bonsai. It's good to see someone take things to the levels he has both with quality, passion and his garden. I heard some of the details of the Artisans cup and if people knew what is going into the lighting, back drops, decor, meals, etc..... it would blow minds. There isn't a show in America that will be close to same level.
50k for a tree??? Sure, and yes, there is a market for them to private collectors that aren't in the public eye. If my old juniper sales for 50k that will be cool and I am positive that it wouldn't be the first to go at that price.

Jason

 

[markyscott]

As far as the prices go...that is a completely different market...no hobbyist will ever spend that on a tree...and that is certainly not who Ryan is targeting. People in that market would never spend any time on site like this...at least not posting. He provides training for folks like us so we can create our own works like his.

You bring up an interesting point, John. My wife is a painter - I have no skills in this at all, but her interest has drawn me into the world of art shows, gallery openings, etc. I was quite impressed by the amount of money that people would spend in pieces of visual art. There are many collectors who think nothing of spending several thousand or more on a painting or sculpture. And most of these individuals have no interest in picking up a paint brush to do it themselves - they are really motivated by collecting, not doing, art. This is really different than going to a bonsai show where there are few (if any) collectors - mostly there are other people present who are into MAKING bonsai. Imagine going to a gallery opening where only the artists themselves showed up. I imagine that there would be a lot of gallery closings in short order if they were relying on starving artists for income. It is the collector that keeps the art community alive in the US. I believe that the collectors in Japan are a major source of income to the bonsai professionals there. Is there a community of bonsai collectors in the US? If there is it must be small and must grow to realize Ryan's dream of pushing USA bonsai to another level.

Scott

 

[coh]

Imagine going to a gallery opening where only the artists themselves showed up. I imagine that there would be a lot of gallery closings in short order if they were relying on starving artists for income.
Scott

This is not as uncommon as you might think, at least in smaller and/or less affluent markets. I've been painting on and off for about 15 years and for a while was working towards making a "career" out of it. But the Rochester area is somewhat depressed economically and there aren't a lot of people spending on original artwork. I've been to quite a few shows where most of the attendees consisted of (1) the artists in the show, (2) other artists who were friends of those in the show, and (3) immediate family and friends. Not a lot of sales at those kinds of events. As a result, almost all of the galleries in this area have closed.

I chose to go back to my old career...I was good enough at painting to win many local awards and sell some paintings but it wasn't enough (plus I wasn't driven enough to keep at it despite the hassles).

Anyway...Ryan's site looks good. As for the Artisan's Cup, I thought I read/heard that the major problem was that they couldn't line up enough funding. Always thought that the original time frame seemed very ambitious. Hopefully everything works out for 2015.

Chris

 

[reddog]

artisan cup news?

Anyway...Ryan's site looks good. As for the Artisan's Cup, I thought I read/heard that the major problem was that they couldn't line up enough funding. Always thought that the original time frame seemed very ambitious. Hopefully everything works out for 2015.

Anything new from mirai on the artisans cup whether they obtained the funds to move forward?

 

[coh]

This is the most recent info I've seen about the Artisan's Cup, from Michael Hagedorn's website:

http://crataegus.com/2014/11/20/the-artisans-cup-2015-prequel/

 

[reddog]

Thank you bonsai66 and RedDog. Yes, I did all the work on that tree with Walter there to encourage me and make me do things I wouldn't have done without him there.

The maple, I collected and styled. Ryan repotted it and trimmed it up a bit after the deer did some trimming. There are others there that were mine too.....

I will be back soon....big things in bonsai for me coming spring 2015. Time to start over from scratch, more focused than ever

Jason

I thought Jason Gamby was the creator of this great juniper. http://www.bonsaimirai.com/bonsai/rocky-mountain-juniper-no-2?width=1060&height=700

 

[Walter Pall]

As Jason writes in this thread it was a tree whbihc originbally I was supposed to have but it was too big for me. So Jason got it around 8 years ago. Then Jason and I styled it together over a few years. Jason at one point gave up bonsai (at least for a while) and so the tree got into Ryan's collection. To see this tree quoted at one of the top prices gives us a good feeling. It is definitely clear, however, that this now is a Ryan Neil tree who considerably changed and refined it.
See pictures of 2007 and 2008 .

 

[Vin]

That is one magnificent tree! It's really hard for me to imagine I would ever have a piece like this in my collection. I may win the lottery one day so you never know. Thank you Sir for posting it.

 

[Giga]

Ryan seems to be a great guy, love his video's, demonstrations and the like. His site is also very clean and great pictures of the tree's. Those tree's are rather fantastic BUT the price are a bit ridiculous. The common joe like me and the rest of us don't have thousands/10's of thousands to spend on bonsai. I still would love to see some of those trees in person though. I just can't wrap my head around all those prices.

Shouldn't he have like bread and butter tree's that most people could buy to keep the lights on? If I win millions then I will def stay in the cabin and come home with a few tree's.

 

[Nybonsai12]

I don't think Ryan Neil is looking to sell his masterpieces to the average joe for rock bottom pricing, but instead is catering to sell these trees to private collectors. His pieces are very old, very rare and very special.

He's among the top artists and not looking to move product in quantity. As for keeping his lights on, he has many other ways he is making money, his school, demonstrations, private sessions etc...

 

[Giga]

I not saying moving tree en mass, and those pieces are very rare, and very well done. I guess that's his choice to ONLY tailor to the rich but it would be nice to own a tree by him. Like Graham Potter has tree's that most people can buy and I think his skill is just as good. Maybe I'm just wishing I was richer lol