John Burns - September 2009

Primarily I concentrated on small, detailed lead pencil drawings that took weeks to complete.  I then progressed to watercolors 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 watercolors, I advanced to oil paintings and once again employed a very accurate and precise 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 acrylics 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 colors.  I generally use a palette of only eight colors, preferring to create color 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.