David
Burns: New Paintings
Galleries West Magazine
Fall, 2006
By Beverley Cramp
It takes courage for a serious artist
to paint a sunset and brave the inevitable accusations of kitsch
and sentimentality. It's a challenge that abstract-painter-turned-landscape-artist
David Burns tackles head on.
"There's a reason we stop and look at sunsets," he
says. "They have a lot of power."
Burns doesn't actually paint sunsets — rather, he favours
the last lingering moments of the day when the setting sun shifts
the spectrum to the neutrals of dusk. It's the effect of the
light that holds Burns' interest.
"There's an endless array of subtleties as the dark green
ocean changes to dirty pinks and back to green and blue,"
he explains.
Avoiding kitsch is made easier for Burns because his recent
work is minimalist in approach, employing evanescent brush strokes
and colours. He uses oil paint almost like watercolour, thinning
down the layers of paint with alternating solvent washes. The
number of applications varies. Sometimes he finds magic right
away; other times he keeps layering until a creative accident
happens to bring the painting to life.
"There are easily ten layers before I'm happy", he
says. Faint drip lines remain in some of the paintings and the
hard edges of dried solvent are occasionally evident.
Burns' quiet seascapes are far removed from the neo-expressionist
canvasses he first began producing as a student at Concordia
University in Montreal. Those early acrylic paintings were vibrant
and intense in colour.
"I have a memory of going to Expo '67, seeing a Rothko
and being impressed with it," he recalls. "Growing
up, I was exposed to lots of abstract art in Montreal. The abstract
aesthetic is very normal for me."
In 1987, Burns moved to British Columbia's Sunshine Coast where
he "did the artist-in-the-bush thing — lived in a
log cabin and raised some kids." From his beachfront home,
Burns developed a profound attachment to the ocean. The Sunsine
Coast was also where he met abstract expressionist artist Don
Jarvis and spent time in Jarvis' studio.
These influences initiated a gradual and prolonged change in
Burns' art. Colours became more restrained and his penchant
for abstraction slowly gave way to more recognizable forms.
Since moving to Vancouver several years ago, he has concentrated
on painting the coastal vistas of the Gulf Islands and Howe
Sound.
Although his seascapes are minimalistic, he explains, "It's
important for me to include some geography. I want to have that
locating aspect."
How Burns says his main goal is to use paint to capture his
feelings about the landscape. "For me, the environment
is so powerful. In my work, I want to capture the world the
way I'm experiencing it."
He approaches his aim without cynicism. "My journey to
paint landscapes is about overcoming a lot of stereotypes. It's
about capturing light — and capturing the beauty and majesty
I feel when looking at the ocean and sky."
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 Sun Setting
behind Keats, oil on canvas,
2006
Burns applies layers of oil
paint to achieve the translucent effects of fading light on sea and
sky. |
