The bonsai guidelines were created in order to help enthusiasts to be able to style their plants to obtain an artistic arrangement of the plant’s structure.

This can be most helpful for those who are not naturally artistic. Some aspiring artists labour at styling; not knowing which way to go and getting nowhere. Conversely, others not knowing the guidelines create very creditable bonsai.

These people have a natural instinct for the beauty of line, the balance of space and mass, stability and direction. Some of the best landscape artists are self-taught, balancing mass and space effectively.

Being an Art-form Bonsai should be developed using the Principles of Art. The above pointers and more are applicable to bonsai, and should be taken into consideration when styling. The details and explanations are below.

Let us take the first Principal of Art, STABILITY.

Stability is perhaps more applicable to the art of bonsai than any of the other art forms. Nevertheless, it is the very basis of the structural beauty of your Bonsai.

Unless your plants are balanced most styles will look as if something is not quite right, but what? Very often it can be as simple as tilting the root ball and trunk until the apex is on or past the vertical, 0.deg. But until one realises where the direction lies, the tilting can cause the plant to appear unstable.

After changing the trunk angle the attitude of the apical direction is most important. At all times a bonsai must impart a positive bearing. In most cases the apex will need to be lifted if it is angled 45deg. or greater. This applies to the upright styles including domed profiles, which will have the highest mass of foliage in the appropriate position. Failure to do so will, in most cases, impart a pitiful aspect instead of a growing, vigorous posture.

The root-system also plays an important role in establishing and maintaining stability, but more about the roots next month.

What about Stability in association with the root system?Imagine a tree firmly anchored into the ground, initially by the taproot, then by the primaries and the evenly spreading surface rootage.

Despite any change from upright to a more leaning angle, the tree remains firm, the profile of the root system is altered from the even rootage of an upright tree to what I like to describe as having acquired character. Roots under the lean have been forced to compress to fit into the newly reduced length caused by the altered angle. This results in what is known as buttressing. A lesser angle will have a mild buttress, whilst the greater the lean, the more massive the buttressing.

Conversely, the other side will have stretched to fit into the extended length. This shows the roots are still holding by growing deeply into the ground.

This realistic explanation is compatible with both Art and Horticulture, and is an adjunct to the Fine Art of Bonsai.

The next Art Principle in this year of basically speaking is surprisingly = SPACE. The saying goes that ‘space can say more’ it applies very much to the fine Art of Bonsai.

It indicates and reinforces direction. On the side of direction (the apical and lowest, longest branch and major root, should be pointing in a similar direction). The surface area should have more surface length than the other side.

In between the branches triangular space suggests age and Maturity. Asymmetric air space in between line (trunk & branches) brings fine art to the whole. Branchlets (secondary branches) should leave the primary branch in a forward manner becoming wider as the terminal placement is determined. The resulting air space forms an asymmetric air space. This form of space is another technique of reinforcing the direction.

By the time June arrives in Australia, most of our deciduous bonsai are bare and its lineal structure is revealed. June is also the best month to prune Japanese Maples, without losing the precious stored sap.

Conifers with copious foliage should also have a plucking or trimming to remove excess twigs & foliage along the inside of branches towards the trunk, leaving the remaining foliage toward the ends of the branches. The mass & depth of the remaining foliage is then reduced.

The LINE of the Design thus revealed is the perfect time, both artistically & horticulturally to adjust & improve the Design of the Line.

Many enthusiasts forget the fundamentally important lineal structure concentrating more on the surface beauty of foliage, which often disguises unsightly skeletal structure.

The taper of Line is as important with bonsai, as is the complementary air space between. Air space should supplement the beauty of Line, as Line should complement the profile of its space.

BALANCE is not what the books describe as to ‘balance the loss of roots to the foliage remaining’. But this tip concerns the artistic side of Bonsai: - the Art principles.

The Balance of bonsai also depends on its structural stability, (March 2000.) It also depends on the correct Balance of mass & space. This Balance is crucial to the fine design of our bonsai.

Looking at our plant we have two halves of the design divided by the trunk. They are the direction & counter balance sides. The side of direction has either fewer branches or more space between the branch lines. There should be not as heavy or less foliage. The branches, especially the lowest (character) preferably on the direction side, has the longer of the lowest branches.

The Counter Balance side is the stabilising side, having more? branches: or more dense amounts of foliage. Consequently less space between. This weight is the stabilising factor of the whole.

Condensing this aspect of Balance: - more mass on counter balance side. More space on the side of direction.

So, we have established it is advisable to have more mass (foliage) on the counter balancing side of the trunk. (The other side is the direction side). this ‘grounds’ the bonsai, in other words makes it appear stable.

An important aspect with the development of a plant with a likely prospect, or at the next stage of its development is this…. A reduced area of foliage that either exists or has been removed within a section of the plant must be balanced to equalise the mass of the whole.

‘Balance the loss of roots to the foliage remaining’ mentioned in passing as referring to horticultural balance rather than an art BALANCE.

Horticulturally speaking, the need of equalising the removal of roots to the amount of foliage has long been promoted as the rule. This in fact, is not always correct. If a plant (bonsai or stock) were ailing, and worsening due to bad potting mix, it would be better to remove existing mix & repotting as quickly as you can into an improved mix, rather than to wait for the ‘right’ potting time. A correct potting mix should not have water pooled on the surface for more than 5 seconds. If it doesn’t drain away in this time, it proves the potting mix being used is not up to the task of providing enough aerated conditions for your bonsai. The important point here is to ‘fix the root of the problem’ first and leave the foliage (food factory) intact: to manufacture complex carbohydrates to rejuvenate the sick plant.

Calendar wise September is spring, but in the greater metropolitan region "spring" is too late for many plants. However, once again it has to be emphasised the condition of the plant shows when it is time to cut the roots. This will occur just prior to the leaf buds opening.

It will be too late to root-prune the Cedrus, cedars and Abies, spruce group if the new needles have opened. However, it has not been unknown for these species to bud break as late as September.

Speaking of conifers brings me to the Art Principle of Mass, which has to have a Balance with Space. Generally, the mass area of the Conifer crown in particular, is usually much too much. Artistically, mass should be lower, becoming more sparse towards the apex. Some homework? Look at pictures in books, to see how many Bonsai crowns are out of balance with the whole.

Horticulturally, there is more strength in the apex. Unless it is trimmed it will weaken the lower branches.

The fact that MASS is a most important aspect with regards to Bonsai designing, by no means lessens the significance of other Art Principles. Often by reducing mass to silhouette will show how the distribution of weight (in this case mass) can emphasise an imbalance with a bonsai form. Many stylists realise that looking at a bonsai through a camera lens may resolve indecision.

Weight (mass) must move upwards ie. to taper upwards with the mass of the pot including the width of the base of trunk (bole) and lower branches. These last two taper off to finer line with space rather than mass becoming more prominent.

Another aspect of mass that is virtually unknown is the need for counterbalance; this is achieved by halving the crown. This brings in the principles of direction and stability with all styles. Asymmetry is artistic whilst symmetry can be boring and mass can highlight a scalene profile. Direction is emphasised by more space (less mass) on the longer branch. Conversely, more mass (weight) is needed on the opposite side to direction to counterbalance the whole. This then provides the appearance of stability, so important for all bonsai.

Bonsai, apart from body painting, is the only living Art form. As our bonsai attain stages in form and maturity it should never reach its Zenith for it is ever changing: which means that is never ‘finished’.

You may initially be able to apply Art Principles to your raw material. Conversely, one may choose stock either because ‘ it conforms’. Not knowing the art guidelines be simply because you like it and can ‘do something’ with it. If just beginning bonsai and you read Yuji Yoshimura’s guidelines, you will be designing your plant similar to painting by numbers.

Now this is ok if you don’t know what to do or realise that you lack artistic skill. Continue observing the guidelines through these early stages. As you are becoming more confident, your plant is becoming older and the artistic can then "Go Beyond the Guidelines".

Think about this- ‘It is not where the branches come from, but where the foliage is’.

With this departure from ‘The Guidelines’ the principle of Line & Space is required to achieve a degree of Fine Art.