Masonry - Greg Mason Burns

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December 18, 2013

Kickstarter Project Launch

[caption id="attachment_3197" align="alignleft" width="300"] Barcelona Rooftops (available on Kickstarter)[/caption] A happy day today, as I begin my first ever Kickstarter project. The name of this project is Operation: Frame and its purpose is to help raise funds to frame paintings for my exhibit in February in Curitiba, Brasil. You can see the project here: What is Kickstarter? It's the world's largest crowd-funding website that helps creatives find the necessary funding to finish projects. I've supported three projects thus far (two movies and a book) and I'm sure I'll support more going forward. Why support a Kickstarter project? Simply put there lots of great...

November 10, 2013

Greg

Art and Medicine

[caption id="attachment_3469" align="alignright" width="300"] Untitled Abstract #2[/caption] Art and medicine are linked in ways we might not have expected. I'm excited to share this Dupont-Corian article because it could save everyone money. According to the research published by Upali Nanda, Director of Research, American Art Resources, one study pitted a Van Gogh painting, A Pollock painting, and a landscape photo. The article states, "When the patient's medication use was charted, it was found that in contrast to the control group, the patients consumed slightly more medication while looking at Pollock's abstract work, suggesting that the art had made them anxious." The article also...

October 13, 2013

Greg

Art Motivates and Can Help You Make Better Financial Decisions

Igreja da Sé de Olinda I live in Brasil and recently had to do a presentation in my Portuguese class. The assignment was to create an argument that would convince the rest of the class that my side was best. Since I'm an artist, I chose a topic regarding why art motivates and can help You make better financial decisions. There is a lot of research out there that shows why art is good for you, and it isn't just because it's beautiful or anything like that. It's because art sends messages to our subconscious that cause us to react. But it isn't...

September 10, 2013

Greg

Interview on Gazeta do Povo

English: I was recently interviewed on TV for eParaná´s program Cultura. Now I have an interview with Paraná´s largest newspaper, Gazeta do Povo. I´m happy with this interview, too. It was very well done. Both the journalist and cameraman were beyond professional and thorough. I hope you enjoy it. The video doesn't seem to be on the website anymore, unfortunately. However, the written interview on Gazeta do Povo is still there. The project I was working on at the time was oil-pastel-on-glass, and for this interview I did a quick drawing of castenholas, which was a part of a flamenco project...

August 30, 2013

Greg

Remembering your values

Remembering your values isn't always easy to do. Ever had a bad day as an artist? Ever wondered where the next commission will come from? The next sale? The next print sale? Ever wonder if it's worth sticking with it and heading back out to the "real" world? I've been on both sides, and being an artist is easily the best thing for me. I know this in my heart. But here's the thing, it's not always easy to do it. One needs to remember why one is doing it, and sometimes it's easy to forget. I had one of...

August 17, 2013

Greg

Ainda Vida – Uma exposição de natureza morta – Hacienda Cafe, Curitiba

[caption id="attachment_3972" align="alignleft" width="170"] The artist with "Artist's Delight" at the Ainda, Vida exhibit[/caption] Due to most of the attendees being Portuguese-only speakers, this post is in Portuguese. You can always translate it (albeit not that great) at http://translate.google.com.Quero agradecer a todos aqueles que participaram da minha mais recente exposição de pinturas de natureza morta. Fiquei muito feliz em ver aqueles que vieram, e eu aprecio o apoio que vocês deram. Um agradecimento especial a Arlete e Genésio. A exposição vai até o final de agosto. Hacienda está aberto de segunda a sexta-feira, das 12h as 22h (ou mais tarde). Back to English: one...

May 15, 2013

Greg

Painting is easy when you don’t know how…

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="392"] Zapatos de Flamenco - Oil Pastel on Glass[/caption] I decided on a new project to paint the streets of Curitiba, Brasil. I'm not choosing streets based on their fame or beauty, but more on their composition. I guess that's beauty in the end, and I'm not sure what it means that many of the streets I chose ended up being smack dab in the middle of the favelas here, but either way it says something about how I choose objects. For example, I have a long-term project to document flamenco, but I'm not interested in painting a...

February 14, 2013

Greg

Never Stop Loving What You Love To Do

[caption id="attachment_3979" align="alignright" width="250"] Never stop loving what you love to do.[/caption] Just let it keep filling up your wall, and your life, and your love and good things will come. The first is happiness. I can attest to that for sure. I am in love, and yet, I am still so new to the game that I know I still have a lifetime more to learn, to do, and to enjoy. Everyone has something that they love to do. Many people have something that they would love to do more if they had more time, more money, more of whatever it...

August 26, 2012

Greg

First Exhibition Success!

[caption id="attachment_4019" align="alignright" width="300"] Turnout for my first exhibition[/caption] Two months ago I was eating at a restaurant with empty walls and thought, "I wonder if I could hang some paintings here." We talked with the owner and he agreed. Last night was the night, and 30 friends and family joined together to help me celebrate my first exhibition. To say that it was a success is an understatement. I thought that maybe I´d sell one painting, two if I was lucky. In the end, I sold four and had two inquiries about future commissions. Not bad for a first exhibition. It...

August 18, 2012

Greg

After Hanging the Paintings

Excited for my first event, I decided grab a few pics after hanging the paintings. I'm looking forward to it. Today I went back to sign a few more paintings knowing that they'd be drier than when I hung them. Later this week we'll put up the labels, prices, information, etc.[/caption] This is my first exhibit in a restaurant, and I'm grateful for the opportunity. I've worked hard to get these first paintings done. I'm self-taught as an artist, so I've had to learn everything from scratch: from how oil mixes with the white background, to how to apply different...

May 1, 2012

Greg

Sometimes You Gotta Fly

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="250"] A blessed fisherman in Coquimbo, Chile telling me that sometimes you gotta fly.[/caption] Like so much in this world, there are a million things I don't know anything about. I'm struggling now, and I know it will kill me the next few days until I turn it around; and then I'll find myself melting into a pool of gold, smiling, laughing, crying, grateful, sticky. Sometimes you gotta fly. I have no expectations, and probably even fewer skills. Sometimes I wonder if I even have the drive, passion, or heart. Other times, I weep with my luck and pray for...