Marlene Burns – Interview With The Artist

I started taking art classes as a child, along with all of the other arts including dance, music and theater. By high school, I was very serious about my art and was fortunate to have 2 wonderful teachers who taught to supplement their incomes…they were both true artists.  Their passion helped me to define mine.

What style of art do you use most?

I am an abstract expressionist.

Has your style changed from when you first began as an artist?

Of course, in the beginning I was merely a copy artist.  My university training and two college degrees in fine arts, had me delve into all mediums, all styles.  I had to master the portrait, landscape, still life…no abstraction at all.  I consider abstraction, my final frontier, in that i no longer have an image…I am painting my guts onto the canvas.  Not to say, that I didn’t pay my dues, with portraits and murals for many years! Some of my images of choice when I began to abstract ( because I do believe that abstraction is a simplification of the real, not just paint thrown on a canvas,) were kachinas, birds, fish. Nature has already mastered perfection in design.  The kachinas not only fascinated me with their primitive quality, but their spiritual power as well.  I transformed the primitive into contemporary images.

I am curI work on canvas and wood.rently a mixed medium artist using acrylic and metallic paints, gesso, molding paste , applique wood and airbrush inks in a variety of combinations.

What made you choose that medium?

It wasn’t a conscious choice….it evolved as I did.

Do your ideas come from life or imagination?

My ideas are not predetermined….as an expressionist, it is coming from within.  Having said that, outer life provides constant data for my inner feelings.

How do you choose your images and colours?

It is not a conscious choice.  I sometimes work with an interior designer, who is my largest collector as well.  I stay tuned into the design world and will often make sure my palette compliments the latest craze in color.  I use my knowledge of color and light to decide how to use a particular palette. I do not feel that I am prostituting myself by having something else determine the color palette…it is just one of many design elements that is already decided for me…I still have to make decisions regarding the others.

Hands down, Van Gogh.  It was a thrill to go to his museum in Amsterdam. I studied Vincent as a student and loved his letters to his brother Theo….I think it is very important for an artist to be verbal as well as visual…I am most interested in artists that write about their process….art critics are conjecturing at best.

I have to laugh when I hear that a masterpiece has been discovered by one of our greats….makes me think that had the artist lived one more day, it may have been gessoed over.

What is your favourite piece of work by yourself?

I would have to say the following image.  The name is “Broken Heart.”  It is a significant piece for me in that I painted it when I was going through a divorce…the image of the heart dropping is the last visible image I have ever used.  It has gotten a wonderful response, in that people see such a variety of things.  My canvases are designed so that they can be hung in any one of the four directions.  That way, you are constantly discovering new things in the abstractions.

I paint fast. My college professors recognized that and made me switch to acrylics, though they were very basic and new in the late 60’s when I was in college.  IF my process serves to offer a good product, one painting session is all I need to lay down what becomes the underpainting.  The next day, I use my knowledge, skill and experience to start removing what I don’t need….2-3 days of painting is typical.

How well do you take criticism?

I consider the source.  Most people don’t gravitate to abstract work..they need a subject. Fellow trained artists and educators are MOST welcomed to criticize and often help when I reach out to solve an issue.

What do you do to overcome a ‘block’?

I dont’ get blocked.  I don’t have angst… I don’t struggle…I am not the archetypical artist..I am very normal, dependable and consistent….I wake up every morning, anxious to paint…it is about the process…I don’t paint with a product in mind… that keeps me authentic.

How do you know something is ‘finished’? Is it easy to walk away?

AHA! That is the $64,000 question! I truly  believe that a trained artist develops the knowledge when to put the brush down.

I have been represented in galleries from New York, to California, most notably in Santa Fe.  I am only represented by one gallery in Scottsdale.  I spent about 10 years pushing gallery affiliation, but the bottom line was that I can still best sell my own work…People find it very appealing to be able to talk to the artist directly.  I need to interact with my collectors as well.  Painting is a solitary profession.

What are your plans for the future?

Keep my eyesight and not get arthritis.  I cannot imagine my life without this viable means of expression and therapy!

What advice would you give new artists?

Get good teachers.  Learn to critique.  Keep your ego in check.  Dont’ be discouraged.   The mere fact that someone chooses to do what they love, is half the battle in living a satisying life!

Have you done any courses to help you?

I received a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts and a Master’s of the Arts (painting major) with an art teaching certificate from the School of Design, Art and Architecture, University of Cincinnati, 1970-71

Website, internet galleries, regular communication with galleries and interior designers in town. Oh yes, business cards go out to everyone!

Do you use social networking in your day to day life?

Only on line. I try to keep the greater proportion of my time painting, not business.

Are you available for work (commissions)?

Most of my work is commissioned…luxury homes and collectors.  I always keep a bulk of work  available as well.

Have you got hobbies?

I love music and dance….I love to teach…I am involved in my religion.  I am a religious tutor, specializing in cantillation. I find that music, dance , painting all have a similar rhythm about them….there is passion in all 3 disciplines.