Top heavy Pondy with a thick long trunk

[Francesco84]

Friends,

A little bit of an awkward Ponderosa here, but he trunk is nice and the top has a ton of branches to work with. I am thinking of dropping the back branch on the right down along the right side of the trunk like in the virtual. For the top, I think (hope) I can bend around the long branch to make an apex. What direction would you take it?

 

[Francesco84]

A shot from underneath.

 

[BrianBay9]

You almost certainly can bend those branches any way you choose. That flexibility is one of the biggest benefits of a ponderosa. Be careful of the branch junctions though, they're easy to rip out.

 

[hemmy]

Nice trunk! You are right, there is alot going on up top it’s tough to follow that curving extension. Like the front that gives a view or partial view of the shari at the base. Especially the bottom right picture. The bottom left picture, has the top shari which is also interesting but I’m not sure how I feel about the upper branch off the trunk taking that bend away from the lean of the trunk. I guess it depends on how you balance the pads. I also like seeing the connection of the jin to the trunk and not where it comes from behind like the bottom left.

Your virtual is great, you definitely need a long branch on that right side to balance the lean and apex movement to the left.

 

[Colorado]

Love the virtual

 

[sorce]

I hate the virtual.

It's easy to like, but, I decided against it.

Sorce

 

[Colorado]

I hate the virtual.

It's easy to like, but, I decided against it.

Sorce

Well that sounds miserable.

The rest of us will be enjoying the progression of this elegant ponderosa!

 

[sorce]

Well that sounds miserable.

It's not.

It's easy to like when it's the first one you see, but then after seeing the material itself, it kinda seems like that old "green helmet" will destroy it's spirit.

I tried to find pictures but couldn't find much.
Still they don't show much indication of a ponderosa regrowing in that manner.

If they would I reckon, it wouldn't be at a feasible scale for this to try to convey a tall stately tree, and any regrowth in that manner would force this to be viewed as more of a Yamadori in it's true sense.

This makes this land in this category closer to, "enjoying it as it is off the mountain" for me.
Leaving it the amazing piece of ruggedness that it already is, just keeping that tidy, but not forced.

Something about Ponderosa too, I gotta admit, I don't really like em, but they damn sure are Murican, so seeing them in Japanese is a little wierd.

Sorce

 

[Shogun610]

Really would like to see a close up on the branches, I’m kinda in between the typical aesthetic and something that allows wildness
Nice pondy, powerful base that you’ll def want to exploit . I like the Jin on the right personally and you want to definitely accentuate that twist up top in your design somehow coming from the back.
I like the Jin on the right because you can see that twist at the base w that subtle Shari you can open up in the future. A slight angle change can also open some further design opportunities.

 

[Francesco84]

Really would like to see a close up on the branches, I’m kinda in between the typical aesthetic and something that allows wildness
Nice pondy, powerful base that you’ll def want to exploit . I like the Jin on the right personally and you want to definitely accentuate that twist up top in your design somehow coming from the back.
I like the Jin on the right because you can see that twist at the base w that subtle Shari you can open up in the future. A slight angle change can also open some further design opportunities.

Couple more pics

 

[Francesco84]

It's not.

It's easy to like when it's the first one you see, but then after seeing the material itself, it kinda seems like that old "green helmet" will destroy it's spirit.

I tried to find pictures but couldn't find much.
Still they don't show much indication of a ponderosa regrowing in that manner.

If they would I reckon, it wouldn't be at a feasible scale for this to try to convey a tall stately tree, and any regrowth in that manner would force this to be viewed as more of a Yamadori in it's true sense.

This makes this land in this category closer to, "enjoying it as it is off the mountain" for me.
Leaving it the amazing piece of ruggedness that it already is, just keeping that tidy, but not forced.

Something about Ponderosa too, I gotta admit, I don't really like em, but they damn sure are Murican, so seeing them in Japanese is a little wierd.

Sorce

Appreciate the candor sorce.

 

[Francesco84]

Appreciate the candor sorce.

I’m not being sarcastic either. There are probably better looking ideas out there. That said, I relate virtuals to gesture drawings. They are meant to be hyperbolized in a sense. Meaning the lines are extreme because when you get hem on paper or tree, the lines you imagine are not as accentuated as you once thought. The tree will not look like the virtual. No matter hard I try. if I wanted a natural looking tree I wouldn’t be asking you guys, I’d be asking nature,
But I don’t want a natural tree. I want art. Created by a human.
For some background, I work in blue chip wine sales that help me afford my bonsai projects. Many of my clients want “ natural “ wine” which is a joke. No one really wanted natural wine. They like the though of it. If you want natural wine go lick up the grape juice that falls to the ground and ferments on its own. It sucks. The best balance of the wine and bonsai art in my opinion is Paying homage to nature and the artist. The artist is what gives soul and value to the art, not the material itself.

 

[River's Edge]

Couple more pics

I can see the virtual as possible with this closer look at the branching. Look forward to the progression.

 

[A. Gorilla]

This is a tree which will thicken your moustache.

Sorce is right though. The virtual is low hanging fruit.

It'll offer something more congruent to its manliness once you start wiring.

 

[Hack Yeah!]

I always open these "Pondy' threads thinking Pond Cypress... just me?

Best of luck with your design

 

[BrianBay9]

I always open these "Pondy' threads thinking Pond Cypress... just me?

East of Mississippi / west of Mississippi thing

 

[Francesco84]

Update: just a couple more back branches to go.

 

[Colorado]

Coming along great!