I am a family physician in private practice in George, South Africa. After spending many hours building ship models, I started growing bonsai as a hobby in 1998. We founded Kat Rivier Kai in 2009 and I was chairman of the club for the past ten years. Travelling, photographing, learning, teaching and writing about bonsai in general are some of my favourite past times. If I had to choose one preferred genus it would be Ficus, although I enjoy working with all other suitable species, modeling in the naturalistic style.
Demonstrations at international events:
Namibia (2005, 2008)
Cape Town (ABC 2, 2006)
Slovakia (2009)
Durban (ABC 3, 2011)
Johannesburg (SABA,2013)
Stellenbosch (ABC 4, 2015)
Demonstrations at national and regional events:
Port Elizabeth (2003)
Pretoria (2008)Johannesburg
(2009)East London (2008, 2010) Bloemfontein (2010, 2012)
George (2014)
Tygerberg (2015, 2016)
Cape Town (2016)
I have also assisted Charles Ceronio in Washington (2008), Mr Min Hsuan Lo (twice) and Mr Budi Sulistyoduring their demo's in China and Indonesia.
Recent achievements:
Recipient of the BCI Writer/ Photographer Award 2016
2nd place in the 2017 Bonsai Focus photographic competition.
Publications:
Potensai – Bonsai starter manual
Bonsai - The African Style - Yoroshika
I am editor and publisher of a monthly bonsai magazine that covers a wide range of topics, with the main aim of promoting indigenous species and local styles.