An interesting question. I think I could have achieved this result, but artistry thrives in an environment where there is inspiration coming from all around. I was actually wiring my little informal upright black pine while he was working on this tree.
I wanted to support Matt as a new professional who is looking for work. I also had twice styled the tree myself and thought it would be interesting to see what someone else did with it.
His pads are smaller than mine would have been, and the foliage was left more dense that I would have left it. The result is a tree that should be put in a show relatively quickly. For maintenance purposes more thinning would have been in order.
Apart from a nicely-styled tree, I got a lot of inspiration from Matt and also had a chance to talk to him at length about his work in Obuse for Suzuki. He's currently traveling around the west coast working; if anyone is interested PM me or look him up on his website.
More to come from last weekend.
Cheers,
Eric