Antique Boards Given a New Lease on Life

Hands Across the Sea—Two joined antique floorboards, approximately 36 x 20 inches. Yes, that's a knot hole!

M Y   A R T — This is one of those pieces that has "crept up" on me. As I've explained in this blog before, some of my pieces are my favorites from the second I paint the first square, or pick the first image. Other pieces don't touch my heart until they're finished. Still others hang on the wall a while before I "get" them, which is, most likely, beyond odd since I created them! This one is in the last group.

These two boards were from a bunch of wood given to me by a friend that, unfortunately, had to take down an antique barn. They're probably 200 years old, if not older. I've created three complete pieces of art on these two boards alone. The first two completed attempts didn't do the boards justice, and I sanded everything off—completely—the joys of working on wood. I stripped the paint and paper off just like you would do on old furniture. This one, the third attempt, was, as they say, the charm. 

The majority of images I used on this piece date to WW1, and flowed together in the production process like they were meant to be together. On top are several layers of clear polyurethane, and a layer of a special gold glaze, which includes not only a bit of gold leaf, but some ground up fish scales, which give the very slightest hint of a pearl finish. The effect is subtle from head-on; you can barely tell it's glazed. From a 30 degree angle however, the glaze takes over, and in some lighting, the images almost disappear completely and all you see is the grain of the wood with a gold tone over them. If you close your eyes and rub your hands over the boards, you'd swear nothing was done beyond the polyurethane—no paper "bumps" between images can be felt at all. Sometimes I'm not sure if I like more the look or the actual textural feel of my wooden pieces. I always encourage my viewers/buyers to run their hands over my art and touch them as part of their experience of appreciation.