Trees and Bonsai Trees

Are you wondering what trees have to do with Fantasy Art Gifts? If you have a gardener on your gift list, a Bonsai tree would be a perfect gift for them! Bonsai trees are a fantasy in themselves - the shaping and the very idea of the tree in a pot on a shelf in the house that would fit on an end table in the living room.

I love trees … it doesn’t matter to me if they are giant ancient trees, wind-abused coastal palm trees, just planted baby saplings or tiny little Bonsai trees in planters - trees have personality, character and they are an important part of our ecosystem.

As everyone knows, our rainforests are in danger which means our entire world is in danger. I’ve been called a treehugger because I love trees. I am not an activist - I am an artist who thinks, reads and looks at the trees around me - I look at the trees around me a lot! I paint a lot of trees … palm trees in particular of named trees but there are lots of generic trees in my art too.

At work there is a shaped cypress tree at the corner of the parking lot - I think the shaping is to keep it from being on the sidewalk but it is impressive to me that it survives and prospers right next to all that concrete.

I’ve driven past a house that has bush / tree sculptures in their yard - the elephant is a marvel of artistic talent - the trees are a majestic tribute to nature that they can be shaped and live just fine.

Flowers can be shaped as well is my understanding … I do not know - plant sculpture seems like a lot of work to me but gardeners and plant people love spending time with plants and growing them. Real Bonsai Trees are not for me - I am not good with gardening or growing plants - no green thumb for me at all unfortunately - I do not want to kill the poor tree.

I wonder if there are local Bonsai specialists that will work with a Bonsai tree for people like me that would love to have a flowering Bonsai tree but have no talent, skill or aptitude for the care required by a Bonsai tree? What would one look under in the phone book? Bonsai outsourcing maybe? Bonsai Sculpturist or Bonsai Artist?

I would do much better with trees that are now plywood with power tools to create fantasy wood sculptures - I could cut out shapes in all kinds of patterns - abstracts, trees, rolling waves for example, then paint them as shaped paintings - power tools do not require a delicate green thumb mixed with hours, days, weeks, months or years of gardening patience / love!

Since I have done woodworking, I have a good idea of how much work is involved but it is something I am good at and it is easy to just put it away and forget about it until you are again in the mood to get out the saw and make shaped boards - it does not require any watering or fertilizing or re-potting.