As with some other items in our store, this picture was born of a desire to use interesting ‘leftovers’ from other projects. The “stem” and frame were created from pieces of Redwood we found at a local architectural salvage store, the rest of which was used to make assorted boxes. Likewise, the “leaves” were sliced from the inner core of a tulip poplar bandsaw box. We loved the contrasting look of redwood and poplar, and the shapes naturally formed a wonderful tropical looking plant stem.

To highlight the wood colors, we elected to go with a neutral gray backdrop. The canvas was painted in a silvery gray acrylic, and the ‘echo’ of the plant design was brushed into the paint while still wet. Once that dried the wood pieces were glued down offset from the painted design. The wood pieces and shadowbox frame were finished in clear shellac.

This picture measures 18 1/2 inches square (the canvas itself is 18 x 18)