Behind the Artwork Archives - Greg Mason Burns

Public Art Commission Kennebec Valley Community College

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 abstract and...

May 6, 2024

Greg

in Art, Behind the Artwork

Portland Head Light

/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 02-08-2023 */ .elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=".svg"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block} 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. /*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 02-08-2023 */ .elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading...

August 27, 2023

Greg

in Behind the Artwork

Tamanduá

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="271"] Capela do Tamanduá - Oil on Canvas - 11" x 14" or 28 x 35 cm (2018)[/caption] 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,...

August 23, 2023

Greg

in Behind the Artwork

A Tree in Tenno is a minimalist watercolor painting using sepias, greys, reds, and yellows.

A Painted Tree is a Whole Moment.

A Tree in Tenno - Watercolor on Paper (2018) This is a guest post by Nivea Bona. It is the first in a series of posts by people who are champions of my art. In this post, Bona makes a link between how we care for and see trees and art in our lives. It is based on a trip to Italy where the above painting, A Tree in Tenno, was first imagined. A painted tree is not only a tree. Nor is it art. It is a whole moment. A tree. Have you ever thought of how many trees you see every day?...

May 26, 2023

Greg

in Behind the Artwork

Cityscape Series: Behind the Paintings

These cityscape paintings are some of the first that I did as an artist. It is not a coincidence that I created them when I first moved to Brazil. There's a huge difference between small-town Maine and big-city Brazil, and it's not the type of difference you get between small towns and big cities anywhere. City II - Oil on Canvas (2012) I had lived in several cities before moving to Brazil, but the level of caution that I needed to exercise with regards to violence was vastly different in Brazil than those other cities. I went from a sense confidence in...

April 6, 2022

Greg

in Behind the Artwork, Painting

Conversations About Art: with Bazévian

[caption id="attachment_3826" align="alignleft" width="186"] Post synthétique I by Bazévian - oil pastel, oil, acrylic, and ink on canvas - 60 x 40cm[/caption] I recently started doing conversations about art and what people in the art world think about their field of work. The first article was about abstract art with Guido Viaro, the writer from Curitiba, Brazil. Today's article is about figurative art, and for that I caught up with emerging artist Bazévian. He is primarily a portrait artist, specializing in capturing the homeless using oil pastel and china ink. Bazévian is originally from the north of France, and he grew up under...

February 24, 2015

Greg

in Art, Artistic Process, Behind the Artwork, Contemporary Art

Conversations About Art: Abstract with Guido Viaro

[caption id="attachment_3837" align="alignright" width="250"] One of Guido Viaro's favorite artists: Kandinsky - Improvisation 3 - Oil on Canvas (1909) - Centre Georges Pompidou[/caption] Guido Viaro and Abstract Art As a writer, Guido Viaro is currently working on abstract short stories, but it's abstract as an idea that influences him. "In my working room I’m surrounded by abstract paintings by Guido Viaro," he says of his grandfather of the same name. "I love all Kandinsky, perhaps for his previous studies of proportions and colors. I love Paul Klee for his fake innocence. I love Jorge Luis Borges for his short story “The Aleph”....

February 19, 2015

Greg

in Art, Artistic Process, Behind the Artwork, Contemporary Art, Criticism

2014 Year in Review: Greg Mason Burns

This was a huge year for me artistically. I had my first museum and gallery exhibits and produced some of the best paintings I've done. My work has developed in both the abstract and figurative realms, and my style has strengthened. Below is a video of my work in 2014. I hope you enjoy. You can see the videos on both my youtube and vimeo channels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9ZqXCxC1l4 ...

December 18, 2014

Greg

in Art, Behind the Artwork, Contemporary Art, Exhibit

Behind the Painting: Igreja do Cerro Branco (and other small towns)

[caption id="attachment_3865" align="alignright" width="250"] Painting Small Towns: Igreja do Cerro Branco - Watercolor on Board (2014)[/caption] I grew up in a small town on the coast of Maine, mostly on an island but sometimes on a peninsula near that island, too. The shop doors would open in May and the tourists started trickling in around Memorial Day at the end of the month. Things would turn into a boom from the 4th of July until Labor Day at the beginning of September. When I was growing up, October was quiet but these days leaf peepers come in hoards, making October the...

December 9, 2014

Greg

in Art, Behind the Artwork, Painting

Behind the Painting: Calle en Ardales

[caption id="attachment_3869" align="alignleft" width="172"] Calle en Ardales - Watercolor on Canvas Board - 28 x 33.5 cm (2014)[/caption] I've been climbing for about 15 years now. That's so hard to believe when I look back on those first few years. The man who introduced me to climbing passed away during a climbing accident not long after he got me hooked. On the day I found out, I went climbing. I still can't tell you why. I guess I just felt it was the right thing to do.For many years I wanted to go climbing in El Chorro, in the Malaga region...

November 20, 2014

Greg

in Behind the Artwork, Painting