M.F.G. Burt - Fine Art

The Intrinsic Motivation  Principle of Creativity* (the propensity for creativity to flourish  when  motivated by a personal enjoyment of the work itself) When friends sent me this photo--taken in Tuscany during their sabbatical last year--I was pleased to have the opportunity to paint it. There are few things I enjoy more than painting (drawing, maybe?). I could obsessively reproduce the image, but I don't think I will. They could order an enlargement and hang it on the wall. Jennie has an artist-mother and a craftsman-father. Bradley is a classically trained architect. They'll expect me to paint my own interpretation. And an interpretation it must be as I am not at the location to experience it myself. I must imagine it and try to capture it as best I can. Not everything in the photo will stay. The roses in the foreground stumped me for awhile. They are stunning, but so large compared to the other elements in the landscape, I decide not include them...

Serendipity: Peony 4x5, acrylic Jim put in a request for a pair of abstract paintings for the living room. So far, I have spent two days working on them. It's physical work, whether I'm standing before them or hovering over them. And it makes a considerable mess. A heavy vinyl drop cloth covers the whole room. On top of that is an absorbent fabric drop cloth. Depending on my "activity," some drop cloths are strategically hung on the walls. I wear two aprons to cut down on the possibility of transporting wet paint to the rest of the house. My uniform includes socks that have to come off before I head for the stairs. (I once transported paint footprints into the kitchen.) It's a completely different environment and mindset from when I'm painting a room. I don't even tape things off when painting interiors because my hand is so steady and my edges are so straight, but put a blank canvas in front of me and I'm like a child on sugar. I was pl...

A Painter's Responsibility Shell Seeker I have had a few painting instructors and each one has told me what they do with the paint left on their palettes. Some seal it in a container so that it doesn't dry out. Some guiltily confess to discarding it. The habit I prefer is one I learned from my friend and painter Catharine. When she is finished for the day she applies the paint to a panel for that singular purpose and when it is full, or done, or however you wish to qualify it, she shows it. I have purchased one of these paintings of hers and I confess, even though I own one of her lovely figurative oil paintings as well as a reclining pregnant nude sculpture she made that is quite excellent, her painting below is a favorite of mine. Is it actually art, you ask? Well, I guarantee she applied the paint with intent. How could she not? The result is a lovely study in texture and color. It has so much texture, in fact, I decided to frame it under glass because I was concer...

A Bit of Promise When I first started (whatever this is) I explained that I hope to shine some light on the thought and effort that goes into creating a work of art. Too many people have the impression that artists are geniuses or magicians -- that one simply stands before a piece of paper, a canvas, a block of wood, a piece of stone, a lump of clay, and just goes at it like one possessed. And ta-dah, it appears before your eyes. Really, it isn't like that at all. I have heard artists speak flippantly about their work, "Oh it's nothing. It just took me a couple of hours (blah, blah, blah)." The worst offenders. Why would you devalue what you do? I want to say to them, "If you did THAT in a couple of hours, perhaps you should be doing MORE." I certainly do not wish to give anyone the idea that I think I am mastering this. I have spent twenty years practicing what I was trained for: graphic design. My professional experience informs the art I am attempt...

A New Portrait (Part 4) This is where it gets tedious, the point at which I want to quit and take up quilting. (Quilting isn't any easier, but it would be a distraction from painting.) The likeness is looking less like Frances than it did at the end of Part 3. I have to dig around to find my Glover genetic code and wave it around like a war baton, psychologically speaking. There will be no quitting now. In an earlier post I stated it's a good idea to measure to make sure your proportions aren't out of wack. The arm still didn't look right and after a good deal of comparing measurements from the photo to the canvas I think I found the culprit. The bend of the elbow is lower than her waistline and it's throwing everything off. To raise the bend of the elbow, the old shadow has to be covered. Correcting a painting gets ugly before it gets better. You have to cover your mistake and start that area over. If there are paint ridges upsetting you, sand the...

A New Portrait (Part 3) This is where I left off in Part 2: I don't even know how I arrived at this point. Psyching myself up, dancing in place. It's time to mix skin tones. I want a pile of light and a pile of dark on my palette. Yellow Ocher + Cadmium Red + Titanium White = light skin areas. Yellow Ocher + Cadmium Red + Ultramarine Blue = dark skin areas. I'm showing my palette below but with this disclaimer: I do not actually know  the names of half of my paints because their labels fell off. I just roll with it. Mixing unidentified paints is my version of living on the edge. Below, is my focus area today. I rough in some clouds and perform corrective surgery on the shoulders. (I could spend all day painting clouds and if I let myself, I could procrastinate and avoid tackling the facial features, but the sky is not the point of this painting.) Placing highlights on the face. At this point, the figure could be anyone. I alternate placing...

A New Portrait (Part 2) I rarely get enough time to paint. Even when I plan ahead, chaos interferes. I spend a lot of time feeling frustrated. To avoid going  mad with the paintings that are trying to pry themselves out of me, I paint in short spurts. If I'm lucky, I'll get a few hours to myself on the weekends. This is why acrylic is my current medium of choice. I use the same painting approach as I would with oil but everything dries faster. Decisions have to be made more quickly. With that said, it's just paint. You can paint over it if you're not happy with it. Just, for the love of Pete, don't use black paint from the tube (unless you like starting over from scratch). Mix your blacks and try not to use them until last. So this is where I left off: For the first session, I started working at a table. Today I decided to use my easel. I need to see the panel upright so I can stand a distance away to check my work. I work everywhere: on the floor,...