Celebrate Art!
SIERRA ART TRAILS 2014
Yosemite Foothills Open Studio Tour
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 3rd, 4th, & 5th, 2014
This years 2014 Sierra Art Trails open studio tour has many talented artists. The Sierra Sun Times will be featuring a sampling of area artists leading up to the show. Check back regularly to see who the next featured artist will be.
Ginny Burdick
Pastel, Watercolor, Mixed Media
I begin by walking in nature. A prospect, a color, a smear of color in the sky -- these things take shape in my imagination before I begin a painting. Photos help capture the moment because light changes so quickly and the drift of water over stones can change at a moment's notice. The egret bending toward the shore waits for no artist. The sun has a maddening habit of crossing the sky and pushing shadows across the land. Sometimes four or five photos will be clipped to my easel for reference -- but I never copy photos. I think the best way to think of it is that I collage my photos, assembling the best parts into a composition that satisfies my eye.
The painting begins when I pick up my pastels and begin brushing across the grain of the paper. I work quickly in the beginning, trying to see exactly what is there -- but more important, capturing the feeling of the moment: the quiet, the chill, the vast emptiness. This first backgrounding sketch will be refined in the studio, possibly over several weeks or months.
And it is in the studio where the painting becomes what it must be. I used to laugh when I heard about artists becoming lost in their paintings, but that's exactly what it feels like when I am working: I am lost -- and I find myself inside, wandering in a landscape that I am co-creating. Nature did it first, and I am making it new.
My paintings are meant to evoke a place each of us has inside: a memory, real or imagined.
Ginny can be reached at: (559) 392-6775 or email gburdick@sti.net. Visit Jean's website: www.ginnyburdick.com.
Artist Bio:Ginny Burdick lives and works in the foothills of the beautiful Sierra Mountains in Coarsegold, California. She is known for her strong use of color and imagery in pastels and watercolor. Inspired by the beauty of the surrounding Sierra Mountains, she frequently captures memories of the many places where she has traveled. She often portrays her feeling for a particular locale in the strength of early morning or late afternoon light when shadows are strongest.
She has received awards from Yosemite Western Artists, the Alliance of California Artists, best of show ACA 2009, the Montana Watercolor Society, and KVPT. She was a finalist in the American Artists Magazine 2013 Art contest, over 6000 entries were received. Her paintings were also selected by the Fresno County Superior Court Judges to be displayed both in the Judge’s Conference Center, and in some of their court and jury rooms. She also was a participant in the Sierra Foothill Conservancy Plein Air Event.
The artist has studied under a number of nationally known artists: Skip Lawrence, David Taylor, Susan Ogilvie, Richard McKinley, Richard McDaniel, Judi Betts, Gary Porter, Lavern Hutching, Jane Gyer, Guy Corriero, Thomas Sgouros, Alvaro Castagnett, Diane Maxey, Timothy Clark, Brian Ateo, Libby Tolley, Stephen Quiller, John Salminen, Clark Mitchell, Kim Lordier and others.
When asked why she paints, she replies, “As difficult as it is to express, I think painting is a metaphor for life...why we live...it is a step toward understanding. I strive to gain an understanding of the world and its beauty, to appreciate the way we live and how we integrate ourselves with our environment. I have learned that when painting a beautiful landscape, my feelings are expressed through that process. The creation of art enhances the experience of my personal life as well.”
When discussing her technique and process, the artist says, “I capture what I experience in my mind’s eye, and I explore the experience with light, color, and shape, and manipulate the physical reality until it is forced to reveal the truth of my experience. My brush and my hand are far more talented than my brain when it comes to this work. I am sometimes surprised by what shows up on paper. When it works when a painting gives the viewer an experience of entering a space and mood - I’ve created something worthwhile.”
Painting for the artist is a graphic language through which she expresses herself. She says, “I grow as an artist by taking risks, by attempting new expression in the language of paint and color.” She advises beginning artists, “Never be afraid to make a bad painting. I’ve painted a lot of bad ones that have ended up in the trash bin, and I haven’t regretted one of those failures. I learn from each one, and often failure is more valuable than success.”
“Creativity isn’t something I do on weekends; creativity is my life – in business, in family, in art. My days are filled with opportunity to make my home and my community better places through the art I create. To that end, I attempt to balance my life appropriately, giving full measure of my time and attention to my profession, but reserving private time for family, art, and community. I strive to conduct myself in a way where my example, my integrity, and my business practices are, in themselves, teaching tools for everyone with whom I come into contact. I think of myself as an artist, trusting in my creativity and my craftsmanship.”
The artist observes, “To me, the skies are filled with emotions that draw the viewer closer to the landscape. My series, ‘Remembered Landscapes’ reminds us of all the beautiful places we have experienced. I enjoy capturing images that allow the viewer to reach inside, and feel a private sense of solitude.”In December of 2012 Ginny opened a fine art gallery in Fresno, The Sense of Place, where she represents artist from throughout Central California.
Ginny has a degree in Art from Utah State University.