Security doors in granaries, Dogon people of Mali. African doors art

African doors art

Generally, carving skill spread among all the peoples of Tropical Africa. In addition to well-known and well recognizable sculptures, ethnographers and collectors study doors art that represent much. For example, the ritual, protective, aesthetic and social status. Besides, door art has a historical, narrative, and even instructive function.
Meanwhile, almost all African peoples used images of animals on the carved doors. Animal credited special qualities or traits, and even considered as one of the ancestors of people.
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Winter landscape. The Duboviks Family workshop of woodcarving art

The Duboviks Family workshop of woodcarving art
Talented artists working in the family workshop of woodcarving art create beautiful works out of wood. Noteworthy, the masters live in the Russian city of Bryansk, which is famous for its neighborhood dense forests.
Meanwhile, all members of the family – talented and devoted wood carvers. And even female half of the family (wife Tatiana and daughter Olga) also professionally engaged in wood carving.
Born in 1963 in the village of White Birch of Bryansk region, Viktor Dubovik is the head of the family. He graduated from the Bryansk Art School (1987), and worked as a senior engineer for the promotion and advertising. And two years later, in 1989 he became an artist designer, deputy director of the wood production company. However, from 1996 Viktor Dubovik has been a freelance artist and a permanent participant of art exhibitions of wood carving art in Russia and abroad.
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Lily’s Of The Valley. Denise Nielsen and George Worthington Wood art

Denise Nielsen and George Worthington wood art
Traditionally, wood is the most accessible and easily processed material and essential for the manufacture of many products and parts. It provides great opportunities for the realization of the artistic intent of the author. Because of the relatively light and good workability, as well as many other positive properties of wood can be created a variety of shapes, color, texture and details. It is also important that the wood art can be easily organized in the home. The amazing things of a trompe l’ oeil quality create a married couple – American wood artists Denise Nielsen and George Worthington. Denise as a professional artist, she invents the future images. She is also a teacher of fine arts. And her husband, George – just self-taught. He watched the work of his wife over the years and from her he received enormous practical education.
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Design of the traditional Khokhloma painting

Traditional Khokhloma painting
A unique phenomenon in world culture, Khokhloma painting is a traditional Russian art, found nowhere in the world. Originated from the Volga, Khokhloma painting received its name after one of the villages in the Nizhny Novgorod region – Khokhloma. Meanwhile, in the second half of the XVII century, after church reforms Old Believers seeked refuge in these places. And among them were painters, thanks to whom appeared Khokhloma painting.
Then the painting of icons used the technology of painting background in golden color. Meanwhile, craftsmen used gold and silver powder, that was cheaper. After painting, the master coated the icon with linseed oil and baked in the oven. As a result, the background achieved golden color. That’s the alchemy! And the similar technologies masters used in Khokhloma painting. However, instead took the silver tin powder, and the result was the same – the products became sun-gold. Undoubtedly, such dishes were worthy of the king’s table, also affordable to simple people.
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Bunny. pastel on wood. Drawing by Singaporean Hyperrealist artist Ivan Hoo

Hyperrealist artist Ivan Hoo
These photo-realistic drawings on board can make any viewer speechless. Indeed, it’s difficult to believe that these portraits, animals, and objects in front of you are drawings. Young and talented Singaporean artist Ivan Hoo creates exquisite hyperrealistic drawings using pencils and pastels on a wooden surface. The artist has found a way to keep the color of pastel vibrant after fixing on board. Ivan Hoo shares his incredible art on social websites, like Facebook, twitter, tumblr, deviant-art, YouTube, where he has lots of subscribers, admirers and followers. Currently, his brilliant photo-realistic drawings appeared in Art Speaks Studio in Singapore.
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19th century dish “Mermaid”. Hand-painted in the style of Russian Art Nouveau. Dish with the effect of craquelure, on the back side of the dish is an old patina. Traditional Russian wood painting by Albina Ustyugova

Traditional Russian wood painting by Albina Ustyugova

According to painter and restorer Albina Ustyugova, she has been working in traditional wood painting for over 20 years. Interested in the Byzantine and Old Russian ornament, Albina Ustyugova loves Russian nouveau, paints and ages new things. In her art gallery – lots of vintage items that master restores and paints. These are unique everyday objects: spinning wheels, Rubel, rocker, dishes, collars, pail and other rustic utensils.
Albina Ustyugova is an architect, member of the International Art Fund. She has participated in exhibitions in Russia and abroad. Her works are in private collections around the world. Albina has a wide variety of styles of traditional Russian painting: Boretsky, Permogorsky, Mezensky, Gorodetsky, and many others.
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America the beautiful. 2009. Color Woodcut Print on Ivory Somerset Paper. Artwork by Pittsburgh based artists Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth

American artists Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth have been working together for eight years. Pittsburgh team of artists are known as Tugboat Printshop, specializing in woodcut fine art print editions of beautiful landscapes. To make the woodcut prints, the artists carve their images (drawn by just the two of them) in low relief on blocks of birch plywood. After the blocks have been carved, they are rolled up with ink and printed onto archival fine paper to create the finished artworks. Paper is placed on the inky woodcut surface and the paper & block are sent together through the press. The prints are authentic, handmade start-to-finish. The woodblock is used to make limited edition color prints. The creative artists hope that their woodcuts will provide pleasure, inspiration, and new ways of thinking about the world.

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