What Is The Best Wood For Art?

Resourcing wood for art can be a challenge. Not all species are equal and some will have unique characteristics.

Wood is much like a canvas. In fact many who work with beautiful wood of this nature call it a wood canvas. Names such as Rainbow Poplar, Ambrosia Maple, and others come to mind.

Grain colors are vitally important to what the final work will become. Unfortunately this kind of beauty cannot be had from just any store location.

The kind of wood an artist selects will play a significant role in the value of the wood art.

If your objective is merely an artsy product the source may not matter. Reclaimed wood pallets may be fine for some projects.

Real artistic creation requires a unique wood medium.

To achieve carved wood artwork requires something much more robust. If you want the best for the most beautiful wood art you will need to go off the beaten path.

There are wood canvases out there that would blow your mind. You may discover knotted wood can be as beautiful as spalted for your art endeavors.

Wood Grain Texture Matters For Art

Grain texture speaks to more than the feel within the hand. This element is determined often by species but also many other factors.

How tight the grain is will be a factor in how porous the wood is. This matters in finishing and the end products appearance. There are tips one can follow to help matching grain and color in your projects.

A more scientific approach can be used in understanding what impacts these elements in wood. Its hardness and also the density speaks directly to its grain structure. This in turn impacts wood strength as well as visual aesthetics.

These elements play a major role when an a wood artists may wish to bend wood. Alternatively the same can be said when you wish to minimize wood warp or other perceived defects

Wood charring or burning within a project will certainly dictate wood selection. Stronger grains are desired for greater color variation.

Wood Grain Color Gives A Natural Beauty To The Art

Grain color is a major factor. The more color the better for the final aesthetics. Note that spalted woods can vary in texture across the grain of the same board.

Often if wood is spalted it is due to some event where damage occurred or an irregularity in growth caused by outside forces of nature. These variables can make some wood species better for wood carving and others more challenging.

The grain texture can vary based upon the degree of what the tree endured while living. This is rarely a problem but attention may be needed to some areas more than others for even finishing.

When staining the texture can impact the depth of the color. There may be portions where a porous grain structure will create a darker appearance when stained.

More dense grain structure can appear lighter. In turn this will impact the natural grain lines and how prominent they appear.

Grain transitions matter here. Some species have more irregular grain textures such as cedar. Others are more consistent like oak or maple.

For lumber that has seen more weathering or damage there is always the option to apply resin for wood art. In this way a beautiful piece is still achieved while preserving the wood.

Getting to know grain textures will go a long way in allowing you to select a beautiful wood canvas for the finished work you desire.

It Is Better To Use Rough Sawn Lumber

Let me just get this out there in the open. I hate Lowes or Home Depot for pretty much everything unless its very basic. I avoid them at all costs.

When it comes to quality woodworking supply just do not bother wasting your time going there. This applies for the tools they carry as well.

Think of it like this, the end product of Lowes or Home Depot wood projects can be found at Ikea. There is nothing special about what is offered in their wood supply.

If you need form and function for a basic woodworking project, go for it. They are great at fulfilling that task, but never wood art.

I will add here generic lumber yards into this same category. If a lumber yard is predominately producing items like 2x4s and on a mass production scale then you can almost rule them out.

Occasionally they may have something different but generally speaking they are working their business to fulfill the designed business model for that market need.

Where is the Good Stuff?

To get quality lumber at an economic price point, its very hard to find. The best place to look, believe it or not, can be small places like Facebook Marketplace.

You are looking for guys that have small wood mills and do woodworking on the side.

There are places that in a pinch you can buy a nice wood canvas from such as WoodCraft or Woodworkers Source. I really refrain from locations like those.

It really is a price point issue more than quality.

Local wood mills that are run in someones back yard. Often they appreciate the beauty of wood and it is like walking into a private curators collection. The bonus is the price point will be more in line with affordable.

Note that if you must look online to buy lumber it is usually best to know what you want. Search for terms such as Ambrosia Maple rather than searching for lumber suppliers.

You are able to cut through the mess a lot faster and compare prices and shipping more easily.

An alternative option for some may be found in driftwood. It offers a unique beauty that cannot be found any other way.

End Consumer Importance

When people come to purchase a unique piece of wood art it needs to be a real artistic creation including its source. I use the word artistic creation here for the wood itself does not need to be mass produced fit and finish for general purposes.

For wood this is critical because general fit and finish is grown for general purposes. Tree farms cannot give their lumber the time necessary for the wood to develop or cultivate unique features.

Often the most beautiful wood comes from a tree that has seen many years of wind, storms, stress and even damage that took place on the tree itself.

My dislike of big box chain stores has less to do with the brand and more to do with the generic product not matching my needs as an artist.

For the end consumer that is looking for unique, they too are moving beyond Ikea generics and into more cultivated creations of artistic nature.

Each wood supplier has their market point just as each artisan has theirs. Yet sourcing the right place for the wood becomes critical based on the project.