Painting
I am attempting to use veneer in an intuitive way with one of my pieces of work. Creating an image from the existing patterns within the veneer the process feels closer to the way I am more used to making art. Also I am feeling the parallels between painting a lot more working in this way, letting the picture emerge from the veneer. I think this reflects a distinct division between picture making and painting, and maybe artist and craftsman?
I saw something within this particular veneer immediately and translating the information of the grain seemed to be a very natural process. It is like a series of sums and in a way exactly like painting. Removing areas, retaining others the choices with the veneer are the same as with paint itself. Working in an abstract way I feel more emphasises the quality of the wood and seems to get to the heart of it.
Most pictorial marquetry seems to attempt to expose the natural beauty of wood but it is precisely these complex parings with other veneers that cause the aesthetic value of a lot of work to be questioned. Although you can identify sections of veneer in pictures the pieces are often sitting alongside many other pieces, almost lost and out of context. Veneers are incredibly distinct and complicated in their appearance, in a way so perfect individually that I feel this should be exploited more within their use in art.
The piece I am using as the starting point is threaded with lines and veins. It looks like a dense forest, a throbbing mass of arteries which are disordered, out of control, almost flowing. Retaining this was my motivation and I hope it will work out………
