Sarah Burns
Sarah Burns is an observation-based painter working in the European tradition. For nearly two decades, Sarah has been painting timeless subjects that include figures, still life, and landscape, while exploring her personal and cultural history. Just as she preserves the truth and beauty of each of her subjects in her paintings, her works are physically able to stand the test of time using proven traditional methods and techniques.
Burns is based in Southern Oregon and has exhibited in group exhibitions at the Schneider Museum of Art, The Maryhill Museum, The Arkell Museum, Grants Pass Art Museum, Coos Art Museum, and other notable institutions. When she is not in her studio, she teaches online at classroom.sarahfburns.com and in person at Project Space in Talent, OR. Her work has been featured in American Art Collector, Southern Oregon Magazine, among other publications. In 2016, Burns was awarded the Hudson River Fellowship by the Grand Central Atelier.
Artist Statement
There is nothing as exhilarating and relaxing as going out plein air painting. It heals me. If I stay inside for too long, I lose my sense of clarity and creativity. When I go outside, I feel relaxed and free and can work for hours.
I always start landscape paintings outdoors, sometimes finishing them in the studio. Photo reference and memory are never as stimulating as responding directly to the color, temperature, sound, and smell sensations outdoors. Plein air painting offers infinitely more resources for me to draw on.
Using oil paints, I faithfully document the colors, shapes, and forms before me, but always filtered to serve the painting. I love the history of art, especially European paintings, and I look for opportunities to interpret contemporary landscapes with historical compositional devices.
I’m influenced by the unpretentious paintings of 18th-century English landscape painter John Constable. I find a kindred spirit in his scientific inquiry—notably his many observations of clouds. His work reminds me I can be somewhat illustrative as a fine artist.
I’m humbled by the absolute casual mastery of 19th-century Russian landscape painter Isaac Levitan. His compositions and perfect brushstrokes knock me out. His work reminds me that perfection isn’t about precise details. Stepping back, looking at the big picture, finding the shapes and values underneath the details is the secret to powerful work.
And I’m absolutely inspired by the 20th-century American landscapes of Maynard Dixon. His values, colors, and paintings of the American West depict the forthright magic of a wide open place. I love the way he finds incredible colors that convey the bright lushness of nature. His work reminds me that I don’t need to exaggerate nature. It’s spectacular, just as it is.
I like my viewers to recognize the places I paint. Sharing a sense of place builds community. My painting subjects are mostly in Southern Oregon and Northern California, where I have lived all my life. Loving where I live, and loving to be outdoors inspired me to paint landscapes. In turn, the more I paint landscapes, the more I love and want to learn about the place I live. Pursuing a deeper understanding of the places I paint has led me to study natural history, biology, geology, clouds, and weather.
I now find myself teaching landscape painting with botanists, bee and lichen experts. Once I went out on a painting excursion alongside a biologist who listed the 30 different grass species we saw that day! Through my work painting with conservation groups, I’ve learned that gardening with native plants is actually much easier than growing cultivars, and it’s vital for maintaining biodiversity. Now I’m an absolutely tyrannical native plant gardener and advocate of native plant gardening.
In my work, I depict beautiful places as they are today. I take care to use the best methods and materials so my paintings will last for generations. Artists play a key role in guiding and reflecting contemporary culture, and in establishing a historical record for the future. I may not know what the future holds for the region, but my work contributes to a story that will echo across time.
https://www.sarahfburns.com/
