http://www.animal-bird-fish-woodburning.com/gallery.html
Pyrography portrait of a girl in monochrome: http://www.animal-bird-fish-woodburning.com/gallery.html
A wood bird ornament of Golden Eagle: http://www.animal-bird-fish-woodburning.com/birdornaments.html
Well no, it's not a silly question. There are some who think that pyrography, or woodburning, should be left natural without color at all. This is called monochrome. Some believe that color is okay but only minimally applied. The thought, of course, is that the nature of the art style show and not be covered by color application. Pyrographic artists use many forms of color; watercolor,oil,dyes, oil color pencils, etc. I declare right here that I love all of it.
Since I began woodburning about 17 years ago, I have used a lot of color. It's not that I can't create monochrome pyrography. I can, and do. So to answer my own question, I'd say that it is simply my STYLE. I would agree that if one is just going to do a woodburned outline and then fill in that outline with color it would smack of coloring book work. My colored pyrography is first and foremost a detailed burn with fur, feather, scale and shading. Then oil color pencil work. I have used up to 15 different colors to color detail a fish or a bird.
I am reminded of years ago visiting a craft fair when pottery was very popular. Ninety nine percent of the potters were glazing their pots with "earth" colors because that was considered appropriate for pottery. The pots were beautiful but after awhle I lamented to one, "I want a dish with some COLOR! Blue, red, yellow, I don't care. I'm just weary of brown tones".
When I burn a brook trout or a cardinal, for example, I obey my own urge and desire to make the color of the species realistic. That's it in a nutshell. That's why I call it my style. For the same reasons, if I burn, say, a rustic fence with grasses and a cabin, my urge would be to leave it monochrome or with just a hint of color.
There is a secondary reason I use realistic color on my animals, birds, and fish. My customers have always loved it! Before I developed a Web site, I did a lot of art/craft shows. If I had gotten bad feedback from buyers, you can bet I would have offered more monochrome, but I did not. People loved the color!
I will say that some do not at first recognize my work as woodburning and ask me if it is a painting. It is a lot like a painting but different. The pyrography is "in there" and there is no other look like it.
Obviously, I'm not a purist. There is plenty of room for purists and also for me. Why don't I do oil pencil work and not pyrography? Because I love the medium of pyrography.
In summary, I use realistic color because that's what I do:) I also am very impressed with almost all of the pyrography on the market whether it is monochrome or otherwise. So much beautiful work by so many talented artists!
Visit http://www.animal-bird-fish-woodburning.com/home.html to view hundreds of pyrography ornaments, the Gallery, and Personalized Wood Lake Map art.
Please feel free to leave a comment.
Eleanor
