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| Frescoes |
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Asides
This site is under construction...stay tuned.
Feel free to contact me at kathrynburmon@gmail.com
Feel free to contact me at kathrynburmon@gmail.com
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Artist Statement
Kayo Burmon
As a young child, I found great artistic satisfaction in melting crayons on the radiators of my parents’ home. I was captivated by the colors, textures, lines and shapes... as well as the fragrance of the melting wax.
Fifty years later, I am still fascinated by the same things. The crayons have been replaced by oil paints and inks, the fragrance by that of “odorless” paint thinner and the radiators by paper, canvas, and board.
A lifetime of experiences, relationships, emotions and observations has added greatly to my visual repertoire, and hard work, as well as a number of fine teachers, has increased my skill.
My work depicts common subjects in a representational manner, isolating images that may be recognized and interpreted by the observer in their own personal way. The distinct characteristics of my brushstrokes, marks, drawing, design sense and color combine to make them my own. I seek to create a surface replete with layers of color, fresh and dynamic paint application and strong drawing, integrated with solid design and representing a concept inviting or challenging to the observer. Nearly everything and everyone around me holds my interest, at least for a while. I see connections everywhere between the visual and the cerebral. My work, therefore, manifests an ever changing focus. While the subjects and techniques may differ, all are undeniably connected.
Life with children provided an endless supply of young models, as well as the inspiration provided by their youth, naivety, energy and vulnerability which inspired me to paint “Candid Portraits” for a number of years. These large figurative oil on canvas paintings began with children, evolved to include adults and whole families, and lead to a number of commissioned works. I desire to capture not only a likeness of the individual , but the essence of my subject and through that, a universal experience.
Travel has long been a source of great inspiration. A visit to Africa resulted in a body of work capturing images and individuals from Uganda. Summers on the coast of Maine continue to inspire me. In the last few years I have spent time in Florence, Italy drawing and printmaking in a school fashioned from a Renaissance Period stable. My work space faced the remnants of an old fresco, and the courtyard where we gathered is framed by the fabulous walls of old Italy. I was inspired by the color and texture of the wall surfaces. The layers of color, marks, graffiti, and dirt are actually telling a history. The Tuscan Wall Series, panels painted in oils, with the addition of pastel, charcoal, miscellaneous papers and wax, is my interpretation of the beauty of ancient surfaces complete with the calligraphy of the past and present.
I am an avid gardener and lover of plants, which is apparent in a series of monoprints depicting flowers and flower stalls.
In all my work, I wish to connect with the observer in a slightly intimate way. Perhaps it is the image itself that provokes a response, or the layering of color and texture. For me, this is the difference between “Art” and “Pretty Pictures”.
NOTE: Monoprints -I am relatively new to the print making process and have found it refreshing and challenging. The lessons learned in print making are creeping into my paintings, just as my painting influences my printing. My monoprints consist of many layers. I print one layer at a time, allowing the oil based inks a week to dry in between each layer. It is a time consuming process, but allows for the layering of pure transparent colors as well as the combining of multiple plates.
As a young child, I found great artistic satisfaction in melting crayons on the radiators of my parents’ home. I was captivated by the colors, textures, lines and shapes... as well as the fragrance of the melting wax.
Fifty years later, I am still fascinated by the same things. The crayons have been replaced by oil paints and inks, the fragrance by that of “odorless” paint thinner and the radiators by paper, canvas, and board.
A lifetime of experiences, relationships, emotions and observations has added greatly to my visual repertoire, and hard work, as well as a number of fine teachers, has increased my skill.
My work depicts common subjects in a representational manner, isolating images that may be recognized and interpreted by the observer in their own personal way. The distinct characteristics of my brushstrokes, marks, drawing, design sense and color combine to make them my own. I seek to create a surface replete with layers of color, fresh and dynamic paint application and strong drawing, integrated with solid design and representing a concept inviting or challenging to the observer. Nearly everything and everyone around me holds my interest, at least for a while. I see connections everywhere between the visual and the cerebral. My work, therefore, manifests an ever changing focus. While the subjects and techniques may differ, all are undeniably connected.
Life with children provided an endless supply of young models, as well as the inspiration provided by their youth, naivety, energy and vulnerability which inspired me to paint “Candid Portraits” for a number of years. These large figurative oil on canvas paintings began with children, evolved to include adults and whole families, and lead to a number of commissioned works. I desire to capture not only a likeness of the individual , but the essence of my subject and through that, a universal experience.
Travel has long been a source of great inspiration. A visit to Africa resulted in a body of work capturing images and individuals from Uganda. Summers on the coast of Maine continue to inspire me. In the last few years I have spent time in Florence, Italy drawing and printmaking in a school fashioned from a Renaissance Period stable. My work space faced the remnants of an old fresco, and the courtyard where we gathered is framed by the fabulous walls of old Italy. I was inspired by the color and texture of the wall surfaces. The layers of color, marks, graffiti, and dirt are actually telling a history. The Tuscan Wall Series, panels painted in oils, with the addition of pastel, charcoal, miscellaneous papers and wax, is my interpretation of the beauty of ancient surfaces complete with the calligraphy of the past and present.
I am an avid gardener and lover of plants, which is apparent in a series of monoprints depicting flowers and flower stalls.
In all my work, I wish to connect with the observer in a slightly intimate way. Perhaps it is the image itself that provokes a response, or the layering of color and texture. For me, this is the difference between “Art” and “Pretty Pictures”.
NOTE: Monoprints -I am relatively new to the print making process and have found it refreshing and challenging. The lessons learned in print making are creeping into my paintings, just as my painting influences my printing. My monoprints consist of many layers. I print one layer at a time, allowing the oil based inks a week to dry in between each layer. It is a time consuming process, but allows for the layering of pure transparent colors as well as the combining of multiple plates.
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