Douglas Green

Marquetry is the art of making pictures out of wood. Trees are cut into logs, logs into boards, and boards into veneers. The beneers are cut into marquetry. I have learned to look into logs, and especially into crotches, to visualize what the boards will look like if I cut it this way, versus cutting it that way. The orientation of the cut yeilds significant differences in the figure on the face of the board. Boards I cut into veneers, and they get cut into marquetry. I don't use any stains or dyes or artificial coloration, just the natural colors and textures of the woods. Each color element in and image is a different piece of wood veneer. Sometimes I do photo realism; often the grain inspires an impressionistic scene; sometimes I create a composit image of abstract imagery. But at root it is all inspired by the figure of the grain. Different species of tree have different textures and colors.