John Burns - "Bean"
23 July - 14 August 2011
JOHN BURNS - "Bean" Solo Exhibition
"Primarily I concentrated on small, detailed lead pencil drawings that took weeks to complete. I then progressed to watercolours and used indian ink in combination to create cartoons. As my work evolved, I grew less concerned with every detail and my tight, accurate style gave way to the much looser work that you see today.
From watercolours, I advanced to oil paintings and once again employed a very accurate and percise style. I painted miniature works that took as long as nine months at over forty hours per week of solid painting. Most of this work was undertaken using a small magnifying glass and a very fine brush.
I was offered a job in an oil painting conservation studio and worked full time as a retouch artist, matching up old and often very badly damaged and cracked paintings. This however was not my hearts desire - I had to create my own paintings.
Eventually, I began painting with arcrylics and used them consistently for a few years, enjoying the vibrancy and fast drying they offered. My art has changed immensely from those early days. At one time, I enjoyed the smooth look of paintings; today I strive for texture and body. I have developed many different styles of painting and enjoy flexibility to paint what, when and how I want.
Today, I enjoy modern contemporary works. I have learned by reading and studied in particular how the old masters painted and prepared their canvases and paints. It was all trial and error then and I feel for me, it was the best way to learn. So today, I am a modern artist, always searching for something different. I strive to be my own leader and not a follower.
I paint with what I consider to be the best quality materials, going as far as using several different brand of paints to achieve different colours. I generally use a palette of only eight colours, preferring to create colour myself.
I would like to think that when I am gone, my paintings will live on for as long as possible and I paint each work with this in mind. Love them or hate them, they are all living works and will go only to the one they choose."