“Versatile” describes
Northwest artist, Carolyn Burt. Her
skills include work in a variety of mediums including watercolor, acrylic, ink,
photography, and chalk pastels. Carolyn
studied art throughout school and received her B.A. from University of Puget
Sound after spending a year studying French at the University of Rennes,
France, and attending the Ecole Des Beaux Arts.
She continued her education at U.P.S. receiving her M.Ed. in
administration. She has taught art at
all levels of education and after retiring from 24 years in education,
fulfilled a dream of opening Proctor Art Gallery and re-entering the world of
art after a hiatus. Over the years, she
has won numerous awards and recognition for her work.
Having been born and raised
in Washington, Carolyn is inspired by the beauty of nature as well as the local
architecture of the area. Her renderings
of buildings in and around Tacoma have a freeness and freshness, instead of the
rigidness of contrived mechanical architectural drawing. She incorporates tessellation patterns into
her ink drawings and paintings that morph into realistic images. Often her
paintings focus on lighting, textures, and patterns that create a mood or tell
a story. Visiting vintage car shows and
the Le May Car Museum inspired her creations called “slices of history,” paintings of cars, but focusing only on a
part with its lines, angles, and reflections.
Photography is a recent
addition to her repertoire. She has
already won a purchase award from Multicare Health Systems and an award at the
Washington State Photographer’s Exhibition at the Puyallup Fair. Carolyn uses her art background and knowledge
of composition, color, texture, pattern in choosing and shooting her subjects.
A fairly new medium is chalk
pastel. Along with drawing landscapes,
she has already been commissioned to do several pet portraits. However, her
newest addition is that of Scratchboard Engraving. Boards are prepared with a layer of white
china clay covered with India ink.
Engraving tools are used to remove the black ink for the white to come
through. It is reminiscent of the
scrimshaw engravings.
Carolyn believes “Art feeds
the soul” and that mankind is born to create.
It is overcoming the fear of what someone else will think of your work and
fear of rejection that is the difficult part of process.
Her work may be seen at
Proctor Art Gallery and on line at CarolynBurtStudio.com.
Artist Statement: I have had a long and varied background in photography, dating back to childhood. But the seed really began to sprout sometime around 2003, when I found myself in the middle of a wild horse herd. I have always been around wildlife and animals but this was so different. I took pictures until I ran out of film. When I wasn't shooting, I was marveling at the beauty of the horses, watching the mares and foals, the way the stallions protected the families. I remember thinking that it would be nice to spend a week, following the herd and taking some pictures. Looking back, I think I had that confused with following the cows down the path to the pasture when I was a kid!! That thought stayed in the back of my mind as I worked and played for several years. I even thought about it occasionally in the middle of some long distance kayaking trips.
About 5 years ago, I started dedicating most of my spare time to several herds of wild horses here in the Northwest. The focus has improved my skills and I cannot think of anything more enjoyable than tramping around the side of a mountain, spending as much time as possible near the Mustangs. When not working around the wild Mustangs, I spend time filming other available wildlife. When not working or chasing Mustangs, I try to spend time with my own horses on a ranch in eastern Washington.
My work can be seen online at Fine Art America under my name, at Kriseanhorses.com and is presently displayed at the Proctor Art Gallery in Tacoma as well as the Florida headquarters of the Nature Conservancy. My hope is to share the beauty and grace of these magnificent animals
