" Wood " you like one?

Knock, knock. It seems impossible to resist tapping the surface of a wood print when you hold it in your hands. Immediately, you'll notice that the piece feels solid and durable, though pleasantly light. When we custom-make a wood print for you, the image is transferred onto a board of engineered wood, laminated with a special UV-resistant coating, and mounted onto a solid wood frame with hand-painted black edges. The surface is smooth to the touch and can have either a matte finish (for a soft, natural look) or a resin-gloss finish (for an elegant shine).  For all of you art-hanging-o-phobes, for most sizes, the frame can simply be hooked onto wall with a single centered nail.

This week, you get to see what Olive Groves looks like when it is transformed into a wood mount and hung up on a wall. Olive Groves depicts the unforgettable peacefulness that can be found amongst the shadows of majestic olive trees in the countryside near Ostuni, Puglia – halfway down Italy's heart-stopping stiletto. 

It is a completely awe-inspiring sight to step into a seemingly endless field dotted with massively tall olive trees, their robust trunks in perfect contrast with their delicate silvery leaves, catching the light of a perfect Italian sky. Your instinct is to look up rather than straight ahead, much like a child glances up at his father, with curious eyes. How could you feel as though you even have an age when you stand at their feet? Face to face with twisted, gnarly, bumpy trunks, you realize that no two trees are even remotely alike. Each one seems as though it has its own story to tell, its own lineage to recount. One of the trunks was split into two, hollowed out and blackened in its core. It bore a plaque with the name Attilio and an inscription "Perché la vita rinasca" – a reminder (and wish) that life is continuously reborn.

Once you are in the grove, surrounded by these silent creatures, you forget what lies on the other side of this field – where you came from. The heat of the day brings the distinct smell of the dry, ochre-colored earth straight to your nose. If you could choke on a scent, it would be this one. The echo of your footsteps on the crackly carpet of earth and rock is lost in an air that is filled with the deafening sound of crickets and rustling leaves. You are overcome with the protective calm that is instilled by the ancient trees. You feel better in their presence, in their playful shade, sheltered from the unrelenting pugliese sun. You feel appeased in their company, touched by their wisdom, their stability and permanence. You suddenly feel closer to nature and feel a moving kinship towards those people who love their land and devote their life to preserving the cultural traditions that stem from these deeply entrenched roots. 

Olive Groves depicts that memorable moment of having stepped into a precious, uniquely breathtaking and perspective-changing landscape. The mood of the moment is captured in the deep shadows cast by the olive trees – especially the two that anchor the scene in the foreground. The leaves are in mid-flicker in the breeze the day creates when it slips into late afternoon. The bench, in the middle, is inviting: Come, sit a while, be one with nature. Feel lost in time, overwhelmed by your fleeting existence, but in utter peace. 

I love Olive Groves when it is printed on wood because it feels as though it is closer to its natural element, and especially to its natural color palette. The wood print brings out the warm colors and strong contrasts of an image, which I feel makes Olive Groves more evocative. The subtle pattern of the wood is integrated into the image and, together with the matte finish of the piece, makes it look more like a painting than a photograph. Other scenes that would look beautiful on wood are Elegance, Laguna Mia and Deity. Browse the store to see what may inspire you!

© This text is copyrighted by Kristina Kasparian. Reproduction is prohibited.