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Art

Harvard Ave Utility Box

Getting the commission of this Harvard Ave Utility Box was a great success for me. It is my first public art commission since moving to Boston. I’ve already done four murals in Maine (here and here), but I was hoping to get more opportunities in Boston. This is especially true since I live in Allston, which people know for street art. That turned out to be difficult at first. Yes, there are more opportunities and certainly one doesn’t have to convince people as much on the value of public art because it is a part of the landscape here. There

July 12, 2024

Public Art Commission Kennebec Valley Community College

Art

Behind the Art: Stained-Glass Paintings

The above image of one of my stained-glass paintings is a zoom-in photo of a larger mural that I did for the Kennebec Valley Community College Whitney Wing in 2023. This was the first big break I got from developing this style of painting. Well, actually, it was the second break, but it was the first big one where I actually made some money off my time and materials. The Beginning I wanted to create abstract landscape paintings, and I was already pretty good at abstract overall. My work ebbed and flowed between representative, landscape, and abstract, but I leaned

May 6, 2024

Art

Do You Understand Art

Do You Understand Art is the fourth in a series of guests posts by my collectors and fans. In this post, Nivea Bona reflects on how art makes us feel something and how we try to rationalize that even when there’s no need to do so. Below, Bona shares how this notion challenged her in other parts of her life, and I challenge you to tell me which side I lean toward: intent or in-the-moment emotion. Do You Understand Art – By Nivea Bona Yesterday I had another psychotherapy session that handed me annoying insights. It is funny how we

January 16, 2024

Portland Head Light is a watercolor painting of the lighthouse in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.

Behind the Artwork

Portland Head Light

Portland Head Light – Watercolor on Paper – 4″x6″ This is the third in a series of guest posts by my collectors. This post, made by Cynthia Passos, explores the meaning of the dominant lighthouse in Casco Bay, Maine: Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. The author both owns this piece and has visited the lighthouse. She states an inspirational connection between her, me and my wife, and the lighthouse itself. The text below is the English translation. You can find the original Portuguese below that. English Version Lighthouses enchant me, in general, for their symbology of light and direction:

August 27, 2023

Capela do Tamanduá is a painting of a chapel in the south of Brazil.

Behind the Artwork

Tamanduá

This is the second of what I hope to be many guest posts on my artwork. Nivea Bona wrote the first, titled, A Painted Tree is a Whole Moment, and can be seen here. The painting noted to the left, is now in the home of two collectors from Brazil: Wilson “Xixo” Ramos Filho and his wife Veridiana “Veri” Marques Moserle. I gave it as a gift in exchange for some work that Veri had done for my wife in Brazil, and as it hung in their New York apartment, Xixo lamented that he felt he knew the location of

August 23, 2023

Bowdoin College Chapel is an abstract photography image.

Artistic Process

How to Write an Artist Grant (from the perspective of a grant reviewer)

How to write an artist grant is a difficult question to answer. Artists are good at making art, not doing administrative funding tasks. Yes, I’m an artist. I’ve written a lot of grants and I’ve only succeeded once. That’s probably not a great score, but that’s more to do with competition than anything else. I’m also a grant reviewer who is lucky enough to have gotten a behind-the-scenes look at what a good grant looks like. I wrote an article for the Maine Arts Journal on my experience as a grant reviewer to help artists navigate this tricky realm. To

July 2, 2023

Greg Mason Burns