2011

I got the chance to redeem myself after the fiasco of what happened with my other Green Man. As an artist who takes on commissions, I try to keep my commissioners as involved as possible and to create what they want. The person that commissioned me to do that previous Green Man was very insistent that I color it green. No matter how much I tried to discourage him in this he was determined. So...I did as he asked...and ruined it =( I was so upset...because it only takes 5-10 min to add color, but it took a couple of days to do all the burning. In the end it lost all of its delicate shading and just...was a mess.

Which is why I was SO HAPPY!!! That someone else was interested in this design and appreciated the burning for what it was =)
Adding color to wood burnings is always a tricky thing. Sometimes its needed, sometimes its not. All in all, with this second attempt I am both tickled to death and very pleased =) This piece of wood was so unbelievable soft that every time I put my pen down to its surface it just melted like butter. It made this both difficult and easy at the same time because it allowed me to create much more depth than the first one and this is really a great example of why burnings are a sensory type work. Its pretty to look at, but its AWESOME to touch =)

Anyways, I plan to possibly add some moss around the edges of the bark when I go to enforce it but I am not sure. This is an experiment I have yet to try so we will see how it works out!