The Project: Train Track Perspective
Medium: Wood burning on Birch
By: Ron Snyder (ronrws@mchsi.com)

The world of wood burning (also know as Pyrography) completely invaded artist Ron Snyder’s life by surprise. For a life long artist, working mostly in Oils and Watercolor, using a wood burner to create fine art just didn’t seem to be a tool of choice.

After taking the challenge by some friends to “just try it”, Ron found it to be a quite artistic tool. The piece pictured here was inspired by memories of late summer walks along the railroad tracks of the midwest.

Setup
The graining of the piece of Baltic Birch helped determine the horizon line for the artwork, since the grain runs straight horizontal in the lower half while the more wavy grain of the upper half insinuates clouds. A few preliminary sketches helped lay out the piece properly.

Tools
The piece took about 5 hours to complete (over a few days). Ron used the following tools on the project:

• Burner – Colwood 2000 CUB
• Handpiece – Colwood RT-HAND
• Tip – Colwood TIP #RT-M
• Canvas – ¼” Baltic Birch 8”x11½”
• Finish – Pyrography Coat

Summary
Whether you’re an artist looking for new types of “canvas” or a wood hobbyist thinking of new ways to work with wood, Ron recommends wood burning as an interesting and exciting medium.