Woodcut Prints

I love tree stumps. A weird confession I know. It is because of my cottage that I love them so. The most obvious reason is of course that the cottage is surrounded by trees. But then there are the more subtle references. There is always a pile of wood stacked by our fireplace at the cottage - ready to use on a chilly night. Wood reminds me of my Dad - him with a chainsaw, chopping the fallen trees - which happens when you have older trees surrounding your property. As kids we'd help move the wood into a pile in the garage - a boring, dreaded, awful task to a kid.  Mom would push the wheelbarrow full of wood into the garage for us to unload. And as a teenager, I'd get grumpy because the wood was dirty and I was always somehow inappropriately dressed for the job (like I'd be wearing white).

Now as and adult I like the whole ritual of stacking the wood. It's familiar, still dirty - but now I'm usually in more appropriate attire. On chilly nights at the cottage my Dad would go out into the dark to pile wood into his arms to bring back inside. We'd wait by the creaky door and hold it open for him, and he'd carefully place the logs neatly beside the fireplace. Now my Mom, brother and Aubrey are the ones who do this on those chilly nights. Wood you see fueled the fireplace. I'd watch my Dad tend to the fire, teaching me how to make the perfect one. Everything came with an explanation, background to why things worked as they did. Now, I like to think I'm an expert at making the perfect fire after years of watching him place the wood in "just so" to allow for the air to help the fire. Wood stumps, logs, and firewood is comfort to me. So you see, trees, and wood just remind me of the cottage, which reminds me of my family.

So now you'll likely appreciate why I fell for a print by the artist Bryan Nash Gil that I saw on Anthorpologie.com. I recall the price of the print was very much out of reach for me (see similar works / prices by him here) but still, I thought was truly spectacular. If you like the above, you should watch this video on his work. He also has a book out, available here. 

Then today while browsing Etsy - I did a double take when I saw the shop of LintonArt.

Similar in style to that of Bryan -  the prints and prices amazing. Isn't the above absolutely beautiful!? The above is called "Old Growth Pine" and is priced under $30.00.

I had thought that perhaps this Summer while at the cottage I may try to recreate this style of art  - although likely not as spectacular as either of the above artists, it may be a lovely project. In addition -  during the ice storm here in Toronto the beautiful apple tree at my Mom's - the tree that I grew up playing under fell over - roots and all, due to the ice. I had thought that perhaps we could salvage some wood and try to do a piece like this for each of the family members, so we could always bring the tree with us, and remember the home.

Anyhow, just some lovely art for today.

First Photo: Photo by me, Summer 2013
Second Photo: Green Woodcut Print by Bryan Nash Gil
Third Photo:  "Old Growth Pine" by LionelArt 

xo Lindsay

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