Interview with Douglas Green

Specialty: Wood Marquetry

Piece Exhibited: Threshold

When I attended the Open Studios exhibitions around Boulder, I got a chance to meet some of the many artists who were displaying their incredible works of art. One artist that I got a chance to meet was Douglas Green. Douglas has worked since before he was two years old. He has participated in Open Studios for the 8^th time in the last 9 years, and his specialty is wood marquetry.

Part of Doug’s motivation of creating marquetry (derived from the French word for “inlaid work”) is to engage the

viewer and draw their eyes to the art. Doug needs to be engaged emotionally to a piece of art and needs to see the wood in his mind’s eye in order to fully complete a piece of art. Though Doug is drawn to nature scenes, he is fine with creating any piece that he is contracted to, the Empire State Building, if one wishes.

Doug firmly believes that many pieces of art are truly priceless, and that art has the ability to lift people up by expanding the possibilities of the mind with aesthetically pleasing pieces. Doug believes that communities rich in art are healthier and happier than those in which art is not prevalent. Doug is proud to participate in Open Studios.

Threshold, by Douglas Green

The piece “Threshold” took Doug over 120 hours to complete. The sky is made of maple, the trees from poplar, the trunks from mahogany and the frame from an old piece of Honduran mahogany saved from long ago. The individual pieces of wood were separately cut and meticulously put together on the frame and glued together so seamlessly that it’s impossible to tell they were ever separate pieces. Not a single drop of paint was used to construct the image; all of it was created from the patterns the different trees provided. As Doug puts it, he will show the viewer what he wants them to see, but ironically, in terms of patterns, he can only show them what the wood is willing to give him.

To contact Doug about his artwork or ask for a commissioned piece, reach him at douglas@spiritofthegrain.com or visit his website, www.spiritofthegrain.com.