Golden Girls

"Golden Girls"

18.5" x 23.5" oil on birch veneer

I'm afraid the photo of this one just does not do it justice.  The underlying paint is gold and silver metallic acrylic with a bit of white, then the oil sketch was done on top of that. The painting is reflective according to the light source, hence the difficulty in photographing it.

The reference photo was a sepia tone.  I wanted to keep the flavor of the time period intact, but make it something special. My thought was that this was a golden era that our fast, high-tech world has left behind.  That's what gave me the idea of the gold background.  I was very pleased with the results.  

This painting is another of the ones created for the Darien show from member photos... this one coming from Judy Dodd, who is also an artist.

EBSQ Spotlight today

Of all the portraits and figurative works to choose from, I find it interesting (and gratifying) that fellow artists from EBSQ chose to feature "One Down, Two to Go" in today's spotlight.  As with most of my paintings, there's a story behind why the foreground figure's head goes beyond the canvas.  His face is not visible, yet it is still very much a portrait in that those who know him immediately recognize him by his body language, environment and activity.  The 'slice of life' activity is the subject of the painting and his body language indeed tells the tale.  His four-year-old daughter took the photo that I used as a reference and the painting is very true to what she captured as a moment in their daily lives.  After all, our activities as people extend us all beyond the page, don't you think?

I had the opportunity to get my first public reaction to this painting in my recent solo show.  Some "got it" and some didn't... but it was not neutral.  That bit of mystery and handling of the face, or lack thereof, caused conversation and inquiry and perhaps a questioning within of how we see the world around us. I can live with that!   Here's the spotlight:

EBSQ Spotlight on Portraits & Figurative Art: Pat DeVane Burns

by blumoo on May 13, 2010

 

This month’s featured gallery is Portraits & Figurative Art. Portraits are the artistic representation of an individual or individuals with the face as the focus. The term “figurative art” most frequently refers to the representational depiction of a human or animal figure. Often they are deeply personal – either to the artist, because of the emotions being expressed by the subject or because of the emotions these works illicit from us. They delight, disturb and connect us. During the month of May, we are going to take a few moments to catch up with some of the EBSQ artists that create some of these evocative pieces of art.

Pat DeVane Burns

    "One Down, Two To Go"             - Pat DeVane Burns

"What is so intriguing to me about forms and faces, be it person or animal, is that each one is an individual… alike in so many ways, but different.  It is my challenge as the artist to see what is unique about the body language, the nuance of expression, the coloration, the personality and to translate what might be considered intangible into a tangible painting of that individual". – Pat DeVane Burns

Like what you see here?  We hope you’ll consider leaving a comment or subscribing to one of our feeds. Never miss another cool post from EBSQ. Subscribe to EBSQ: Art Meets Blog v2.0 by Email today!

Breakfast Club - WIP

I had a blast at the Paint Out in Madison, Georgia this past Saturday...talking to the many locals and tourists that frequent the downtown square and chumming with other artists.  My sister met me there and we turned it into a mini-vacation   I've been back since Sunday noon, but this is the first chance I've had to post.  Life is busy with family and art...I'm lovin' it!

This 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas was what I painted plein air on Saturday.  Because of time and reference constraints, I left out one of the three figures I wanted to put in this group of men.  As I was setting up on this very overcast day, a group of ten or so men exited the corner restaurant.  They are a group of locals who meet on Saturday mornings for breakfast.  Most had dispersed by the time I could get to them to ask if they would linger a few moments for me to sketch them, but I got four to remain.  I also snapped a picture and the seated gentleman offered his name, as his wife is involved with the Cultural Center that co-sponsors the Paint Out... my good fortune.  Anyway, I had to turn the painting in for the afternoon auction as you see it here, so I'm not surprised it did not sell, as I can see fundamental compositional errors that I can now tackle back in the studio.  I want to add the third man to complete the composition and create a "conversation".  I'd also like to refine the figures and correct some proportion errors.  I'm pretty happy with the overall brushwork and the feeling ... it rings true to the place and time, so I'll probably leave that pretty much as is.

After the Bath

"After the Bath"

2" x 4" acrylic on red/gray striated slate

... a 'Spirit in Stone'

This is a sweet little stone with such a shallow relief that you almost have to use your fingernails to follow it.  I left the body and the upper left corner the natural color of the stone.  Some small pieces like this I have turned into broaches, but given the subject matter of this one, I think I'll just offer it bare.  Maybe someone will put her in a shadow box or let her be a paper weight.

Been Fishin'

"Been Fishin' " SOLD
18" x 24" acrylic on visual edge canvas

Here's another offering for our community images show in September. It was really fun to paint this one! It just begged to be loose and casual.
The right to use the photo was given by one of the Monroe County Arts Alliance members in response to requests sent out this spring. I didn't know at the time that we live on the same road! I have since met this gentleman(her husband) and he is indeed an avid fisherman.

Batting Coach

"Batting Coach" SOLD
8" x 10" oil on gessoed masonite

This is another of the pieces that I'm painting for the local art alliance's show this fall of community images. What could be more community than baseball at the recreation center? I love the way that all the shapes in this painting mimic the curvature of the coach embracing this little player.
The coach bought this painting with the emotional comment "This is why I coach!". My reply... "That is why I paint".

Sand Angel

"Sand Angel" SOLD
16" x 18" oil on gessoed masonite

This little guy was hamming it up out at the playground early this spring when the weather was still pretty chilly. I just could not resist him!

All American - "tweaked"

"All American"
24" x 36" oil on gessoed masonite
Xanadu Gallery

You probably can't tell much difference, but I went in and tweaked a few things that were bothering me... you artists will understand. Then, when I was retrieving it from it's 'safe' drying place, I scratched paint off of the lariat on the red guy! Will patch that today. I think this painting just likes to hang around my studio and visit with me!

All American - finished!

"All American"
24" x 36" oil on gessoed masonite

Yippee! I can finally post this as a finished piece. Sometimes larger, more complex pieces like this just take a while... mainly because I get distracted into starting other paintings. I just love to start them, but then when I get 80-90% finished, they say pretty much what I want them to say and I have to talk myself into finishing. I know...I'm just a little bit crazy!

I particularly like the way this high school rodeo instructor turned out. And to think...I actually thought about cutting him out of the composition. Glad I didn't!

What I like best about these guys is the way you can feel the bodies inside the shirts because of the way they are leaning over... and you just got to love those fannies in Wranglers!
There exists a nice visual between this blonde bull and the cream outfit of the instructor and the fact that they are both looking out of the painting in opposite directions. Just a way of reminding the viewer that we are only seeing a slice of the activities that go on at a rodeo.

Madison Morning

This is me painting on the square in Madison, GA Saturday, May 2. The weather and setting was absolutely wonderful... and my sister, Pam, was with me! She took these pictures, thank goodness, since I accidentally deleted mine in transferring them from camera to computer.

I had set up to capture the sidewalk tables across the street at O'Hara's, when this guy sitting on the park bench near me caught my eye. It seemed everyone who passed knew him. A car pulled up and the driver gave him a banana, chatted a moment and drove on. By the time he had finished the banana, another car stopped with a sandwich. This is a local character that I really need to capture, I thought. Besides, his profile and body language sitting in the deep shade on that bench were great. I quickly sketched him in and then spent into the afternoon filling in his hometown surroundings. Locals stopping by to see what I was painting would say " Hey, I know him... he's here every morning!" By the time I finished, I knew his name and history!

"Madison Morning"... SOLD
8" x 10" oil on panel

Sorry it's kinda' fuzzy, but it's all I have. This was the first painting bid on at the silent auction that afternoon. It was surprising to see how many people knew exactly who he was! It also garnered me an 'Honorable Mention'.

The three workmen paintings together

"Floating"

"Tethered"

"Stepping Up"

I know that I have posted these separately as they were coming off the easel, but I thought it would be a good idea to post them together like I intended for them to show. Otherwise you would have to scroll and hunt for them.

Each is 20"x20" acrylic on gallery wrap canvas and are selling as a group of three for $3000 unframed. Email me if interested, please, or contact

Xanadu Gallery.

WIP - "Winning Her Over"

I never seem to be able to get one finished (still working on the cowboys!) before I get excited about a new one... in this case, three new ones! This series of three paintings shows my Dad winning over the cautious adoration of my grandbaby, Brooke. I can read his lips as he sings "Won't You Come Over My House?" just as he did when I was a little girl.

Shirley Stafford, an excellent artist friend of mine, suggested I do an underpainting in yellow on these, so I'm giving it a try. They are in oils and each canvas is 24" x 30" x 1-1/2" gallery wrap.
Still lots and lots to do, but I think I'm going to leave the background very simple with just the hint of the window, focusing all the attention on the relationship of my Daddy to his great granddaughter.

Stepping Up

"Stepping Up"
20" x 20" acrylic on visual edge canvas

Finally! The third and last painting in this series of concrete workers is finished. I'll be painting something a little more organic for the next few days. All these angles and lines have me cross-eyed even when I try to be fairly loose with them. I want the effect, but not the hard edges... tricky. But there is something about putting organic shapes over geometrics that really appeals to my eye. These workers have stripped the forms off of the front of the steps and are apparently rubbing and smoothing. Right now they are steps to nowhere, but in another year or so, there will be students climbing up and down at the largest high school complex in Houston County, Georgia.

Floating

"Floating"
20" x 20" acrylic on visual edge canvas

This is the second in the series of three workmen paintings from the huge school construction site that my husband monitors for the architect. Here the workmen are hand floating concrete. The wet slab has already been machined with a circular troweling machine. They only have a short 'window of opportunity' with concrete, as it begins curing soon after water is added at the batch plant inside the truck. Time and temperature all play a part.