Michael Burns Art

American Robin - Acrylic on Paper The 8" x 10' painting of an American Robin and Spring Crocus was done in acrylic paint on grey toned watercolor paper. I drew the composition on paper then transferred it to watercolor paper mounted on a board. I tried to paint in thin layers to reduce the visibility of any brush stroke. I used Golden acrylic flow release and Golden Gloss Glazing liquid to aid in the workability of the paint.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail  Butterfly in Acrylic Subject: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Apple Blossom Date: 05/25/2018 Painting Session: Final Session Medium: Acrylic on Illustration Board Previous Sessions:  Session 1 ,  Session 2 , Session 3 I decided to put in the time to finish this painting after almost two months of not working on it. During this painting session, I re-painting all of the yellow. After looking at some reference photos, I noticed most of the butterflies have a variation in the color of yellow on their wings. Not sure it comes across in the photo but I tried to incorporate some variety on the wings. I also added more wing veins and did a second past on all of the black and blue on the wings. I touched up a few of the apple blossoms and leaves and added in veins on the leaves. Final Painting Swallowtail Butterfly

Subject: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Apple Blossom Date: 03/30/2018 Painting Session: 3 Medium: Acrylic on Illustration Board Previous Sessions:  Session 1 , Session 2 This session was dedicated to working on the flowers and the leaves with most of the time spent on the flowers. I made multiple passes on the flowers trying to work in the gradual color variations on the flowers. But I was always fighting the quick drying time of the acrylic paint which limited my ability to achieve a smooth change in color and soft edges. I tried adding fluid retarder along with flow release which helped a little, but the paint still seemed to dry within seconds. The good thing about acrylic is the drying time which allows you rework an element in your painting in a short period. But the trade-off, at least on paper and board is the paint dries to quick. I finally got to the point I was re-working the flowers and seemed to not be making any progress, so I decided to move on to the le

Tiger Swallowtail Session 2 Subject: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Apple Blossom Date: 03/10/2018 Painting Session: 2 Medium: Acrylic on Illustration Board Colors Used: Titanium White, Carbon Black, Lemon Yellow, Brilliant Blue Previous Sessions:  Session 1 I spent this session layering in a mixture of lemon yellow and Titanium White on the butterfly. I also added another layer of Carbon Black to the dark areas of the butterfly and added more detail to the body. You can see the details in the larger photo below. I used a liner brush to paint in the hairs on the body, there is more work to do in this area. I need to add more yellow and try to make the hairs a little softer. I used Brilliant Blue to add the blue accents around the tail. I need to refine this area more to bring out the blue and soften the edges. Will add another layer of yellow in the next session and try to achieve some variation of yellow tones on the wings.

Subject: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly on Apple Blossoms Tiger Swallowtail in Acrylic Date: 02/22/2018 Painting Session: 1 Medium: Acrylic on Illustration Board Colors Used: Titanium White, Naphthol Red Light, Carbon Black, Quinacridone Magenta, Ultramarine Blue Lemon Yellow. Initial Drawing Using a reference photo, I took of a Tiger Swallowtail butterfly. I created the composition first on paper. Once I was satisfied with the composition, I transferred the drawing to the illustration board. I accomplished this by lightly rubbing graphite on the reverse side of the drawing then lightly tracing the lines of the image to the graphite would transfer to the bard. I was careful not to press too hard so that I would not create any dents on the board. If lines were faint after the transfer, I darkened them a with a pencil. The underpainting of Tiger Swallowtail I roughed in the initial layer of the butterfly using yellow and black applying a thin water

Mail Pouch Barn in Graphite I have not spent much time working on a full drawing in graphite so as part of expanding my artistic horizons I thought I would try. If you like to draw landscapes, then check out "Smoothie77" on YouTube. He has a lot of good videos on drawing landscapes and is an excellent artist. I tried to use some of the techniques he describes in his videos although my work is no near the level of his. I am interested in doing more drawings and want to try different papers and boards to see the differences. From what I have read there is a lot of difference, and you will get different results in the tones of grey and deep blacks. According to Wikipedia Mail Pouch Barn  advertising was painted on Barns from 1891 o 1992 primarily in the Midwest. My assumption is not too many of these barns remain. This barn still stands just West of Nashville In. on State Road 46. Has you can see from the reference photo the advertising is still visible. Mail Pouch Bar

Painting Session 4 Date: 12/30/2017 Subject: Bobwhite Quail Medium: Mixed Media (Watercolor, Gouache, Ink) Paper: Canson : 90lb traditional surface watercolor paper Gouache: Zinc White, Naples Yellow, Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna Ink: Prismacolor fine blank ink permanent marker Links to previous sessions: Session 1 , Session 2 , Session 3 Gouache, Ink Bobwhite quail This is only the second painting I have done in gouache and the first full painting. It turned out to be quite the challenge. Although the quail was not easy to paint it did not pose as many challenges as the grass and background.  I never really got either to the point I was satisfied, but I decided to stop before overworking and ruined the painting.  I think I experienced all of the difficulties with gouache people talk about, especially the drying properties. I could never get the values the way I wanted and any highlights on the grass. I struggled with the paint underneath reactivati

Painting Session 3 Date: 12/30/2017 Subject: Bobwhite Quail Medium: Mixed Media (Watercolor, Gouache, Ink) Paper: Canson: 90lb traditional surface watercolor paper Watercolors used: French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Brilliant Yellow, Winsor Red Gouache: Zinc White, Naples Yellow, Indian Yellow, Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue Ink: Prismacolor fine blank ink permanent marker Links to previous sessions:   Session 1 ,  Session 2 Due to scale and perspective issues between the quail and barn, I decided to take the barn out of the painting and raise the horizon line. I am not sure why I did not notice the problem in the original sketch, but I didn't. I wanted the barn to be back in the distance, but I got the perspective wrong and ended up with a giant quail towering over something that looks more like a small dog house rather than a barn. I did start to notice the issue at the end of session one but thought I would continue to paint it as is or possibly make s

Painting Session 2 Date: 12/12/2017 Subject: Bobwhite Quail Medium: Mixed Media (Watercolor, Gouache, Ink) Paper: Canson: 90lb traditional surface watercolor paper Watercolors used: French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Brilliant Yellow, Winsor Red Gouache: Zinc White, Naples Yellow, Indian Yellow, Yellow Light, Ultramarine Blue Ink: Prismacolor fine blank ink permanent marker Link to previous sessions -  Session 1 Painting Bobwhite Quail Session 2 During session two I spent time working on the overall details of the painting.  The head of the quail is painted with watercolor, and I incorporated small strokes of black ink to add detail to the dark portion that runs from the beak down to the neck. Also added some ink at the end of the tail. The rest of the bird is still all in watercolor, with a lot of work still to do. I may add in some gouache where I want the features to be more opaque. I darkened the sky, but I was a little unhappy with the results so a

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 1 Date: 11/29/207 Subject: Bobwhite Quail Medium: Mixed Media (Watercolor, Gouache, Ink) Paper: Canson: 90lb traditional surface watercolor paper Watercolors used: French Ultramarine, Burnt Sienna, Pthalo Blue, New Camboge (yellow), French Ochre, Vermillion Hue Gouache: none Ink: none Add caption I decided to do another Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series, and as before I wanted to try a medium I have little experience using. After reading an article about James Audubon by Reba Fishman Snyder titled " Complexity in Creation: A Detailed Look at the Watercolors for the Birds of America" I was inspired to try a mixed media painting. The study of the Audubon paintings was performed by the New York Historical Society, and Reba writes how James Audubon used different techniques and methods creating the paintings for the Birds of America. According to Reba "Over 300 drawings for The Birds

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 4 Date: 11/03/2017 Subject: Eastern Blue Bird on Bittersweet Branch Medium: Acrylic Colors Used In This Session:  Titanium White, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Golden Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Brown, Black, Cad Yellow, Yellow Ochre Surface: Crescent Hot Press 200 Illustration Board, Cream Surface Link to previous sessions  Session 1 ,  Session 2,   Session 3 I finally got back to painting on the Eastern Bluebird, so I decided I would finish the painting. Session 4 actually consisted of two separate days of painting 4 to 5 hours each day. I continued to work on the bird, trying to achieve more realism in the feathers. I got to a point where I was not making progress and seemed to be painting the same areas over and over again. So I decided to stop painting on the bluebird and be satisfied with the current results. I also finished up painting the branch and tried to get more detail in the berries and the husks. I just neve

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 5 Date: 08/03/2017 Subject: Wren on A Dogwood Branch Medium: Gouache on Illustration Board Colors Used In This Session:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Zinc White, Alizarin Crimson, Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine Blue Links to painting sessions:  Session 1 ,  Session 2 ,  Session 3 ,  Session 4 Painting A Wren In Gouache - Final Session Since I don't feel I am continuing to make any progress on the painting, I made this the final session. I feel like I did a pretty good job for never painting with Gouache. Most of the time was spent trying to bring out more details on the Wren, but in the end, I think I made very little progress from session 4. I worked a lot on the wings trying to define the feathers in more detail, but could not get the proper shift in values to make the wings stand out.  It is fun and sometimes frustrating when you are trying to learn a new medium. Sometimes you get stuck trying to

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 3 Date: 09/22/2017 Subject: Eastern Blue Bird on Bittersweet Branch Medium: Acrylic Colors Used In This Session:  Titanium White, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Blue,  Golden Ochre, Burnt Sienna Surface: Crescent Hot Press 200 Illustration Board, Cream Surface Link to previous sessions  Session 1 ,  Session 2 I spent about 4 hours today working on the Bluebird trying to bring out more detail in the wings and make the Bird a little more 3 dimensional. Although, I am not satisfied with the results I may have to call the bird done. I repainted the wings multiple times but never could seem to obtain the results I wanted on the feathers. This is the second painting in acrylic I have done as part of this series with all of the same challenges I have written about in the past. But as with all things in life you learn as you go and get better with time. This applies to painting and different mediums. Even though I am not sat

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 4 Date: 09/04/2017 Subject: Wren on A Dogwood Branch Medium: Gouache on Illustration Board Colors Used In This Session:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Zinc White, Alizarin Crimson, Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine Blue Links to painting sessions:  Session 1 ,  Session 2 ,  Session 3 I spent this session working on all three flowers and leaves, working to refine them to the point of some level of realism. Still not there, but I think I may have to be satisfied until I can learn more about the properties of Gouache. It is a challenge to switch from one medium to the other such as oil to gouache, especially from one that dries slowly to one that almost dries instantly. It gives you a new sense of appreciation for those artists past and present who mastered multiple mediums. In this session, I tried to blend lights and darks using various amounts of water along with brushing techniques. Gouache does not take much water bef

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 1 Date: 08/30/2017 Subject: Japanese Maple Medium: Watercolor and Graphite Recently I came across several paintings that were done with Watercolor and Graphite. I thought this would be fun to try as part of my Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series. I did a little research online and watched a youtube video of someone doing a landscape with watercolor and graphite. As always I did not spend a lot of time researching because I wanted to get started. I decided to do the painting in my watercolor sketchbook. Not knowing how this would work I did not spend a lot of time sketching the tree. Graphite Drawing of Japanese Maple Once I completed the drawing I wondered: Did I get enough value transition Do I have too much or not enough detail Did I use to soft of lead which will muddy the watercolor Other then a few pages in my watercolor sketchbook I am not experienced at using watercolor. I am sure more knowledge

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 2 Date: 08/18/2017 Subject: Eastern Blue Bird on Bittersweet Branch Medium: Acrylic Colors Used In This Session:  Titanium White, Cobalt Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Cad Red Light, Golden Ochre, Burnt Sienna Surface: Crescent Hot Press 200 Illustration Board, Cream Surface Link to previous sessions  Session 1 Hard to believe it has been almost four weeks since I worked on the first session of the Eastern Bluebird. I have had other obligations and continue to spend most of my time on a few oil paintings. I like to work on the Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series because it is a nice break from Oil painting and is a chance to try something new. I spent most of this session trying to achieve a more realistic looking bird. But after comparing the end of session 1 photo to the session 2 photos, I am not sure I made a lot of progress. Trying to achieve some sense of volume in the bird's body is a challenge with Acrylic. What see

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 3 Date: 08/03/2017 Subject: Wren on A Dogwood Branch Medium: Gouache on Illustration Board Colors Used In This Session:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Burnt Umber, Zinc White, Alizarin Crimson, Lemon Yellow, Ultramarine Blue, Lamp Black Links to painting sessions:  Session 1 ,  Session 2 End of Session 3  I spent about four hours during this session, painting all of the elements in the picture. Gouache seems challenging to get used to when most of your experience is using oils. James Gurney wrote a blog post titled "The Seven Gouache Hazards and How to Escape Them."   I would suggest anyone new to gouache read the post as it will help you better understand the properties of this medium. One of the tips from James in his article I learned first-hand today. "New layers reactivate previous layers of paint,"  James suggests in his post to lay down transparent layers and build up to the more opaque layer

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 1 Date: 07/23/2017 Subject: Eastern BlueBird on Bittersweet Branch Medium: Acrylic on Illustration Board Colors Used In This Session:  Titanium White, Cobalt Blue, Brilliant Blue, Cad Red Light, Naphthol Red Light, Golden Ochre, Burnt Sienna Surface: Crescent Hot Press 200 Illustration Board, Cream Surface Bluebird at the end of Session 1 If you need some inspiration for painting birds, you have to look no further than artist William Zimmerman. "One of America’s greatest bird artists spent the bulk of his career in Brown County surrounded by nature and the birds that he loved. On a scale with Audubon, William Zimmerman illustrated a host of important books, including The Birds of Indiana and Waterfowl of North America, along with the woodpecker volume of The Life Histories of North American Birds. He also spent a great deal of his career working with environmental groups to protect the habitats of the birds and wi

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 2 Date: 07/15/2017 Subject: Wren on A Dogwood Branch Medium: Gouache on Illustration Board Colors Used In This Session:  Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna, Sepia, Zinc White, Indian Yellow, Grenadine Links to painting sessions:  Session 1 Wren on Dogwood in Gouache Session 2 In the previous post on this subject I mentioned, I had never painted in Gouache, and the only watercolor painting I have ever done was a few watercolor sketches. I did do some quick small sketches with Gouache before starting this session. I wanted to see how the paint flowed on the illustration board and how easy the paint reactivated with water. I did some research online to see how other artists painted with gouache and the techniques they use.  There is an excellent article about the use of Gouache titled   "Painting With Gouache"    from the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators website.  With all mediums, there seem to be multiple tec

Expanding Your Artistic Horizons Series Painting Session 1 Date: 07/03/2017 Subject: Wren on Dogwood Branch Medium: Gouache on Illustration Board Several things have inspired me to paint in Gouache.  One is James Gurney  who is the creator of the Dinotopia Series of Books. I found his blog when I was searching the internet about watercolor sketching. You can spend hours reading through his blog and watching him work magic with Gouache in his sketchbook. James posts videos of his sketching in Gouache, Watercolor, and Casein. The second inspiration to paint in Gouache came when I visited the Cici and Hyatt Brown Museum of Florida Art  in Daytona Beach, FL. Within that museum, there were paintings by artist and illustrator Walter Weber .  Walter Weber was born in 1906 and attended the University of Chicago and the Art Institute if Chicago. He was a mammalogist and is well known for his role as the  Chief Nature Artist for National Geographic Society. I have been to a lot of Museums