A Buttonwood....... In the Process

On the right:
is my Buttonwood bonsai.  The thumbnail shows the twist and character of a tree that used to live in the Caribbean and has survived multiple hurricanes, poundings, wind and wave actions!!!!   The trunk is the main character of this tree.   Being dry,  the lines and twists are very clear.
     The green part of the tree is flowing all about the trunk.  It has been thinned out some, but it's growing in all directions (it's been rotated to the sun, all summer).  There is no visible line or flow, direction to the tree.

      The left photo shows the same tree, 3 days later.  It was taken this morning after a lot of rain last night.  The trunk is wet and dark, not showing the character.  I have wired the branches out from the trimming.  You can begin to see the flow of the tree.  The winds and hurricanes have driven the tree right, so I moved the remaining limbs right, to follow the line.  This is the beginning of the refinement of the Buttonwood.  It won't be a big tree, but it will be rugged looking and weathered.  
       When spring comes, I will begin to reduce the large leaves so they are more in line with the size of the trunk.  In about a year, there will be a whole new look here.    This is an example of the process of developing a bonsai, the fun, the passion, the care, the vision and the hope when you get plan a vision for a tree.