Harry Burleigh — Contemporary Art Curator Magazine

May 5

May 5 Harry Burleigh

Biography

Harry T. Burleigh attended his first art class as a junior in high school, where his teacher saw that he had a developing talent. She encouraged him to keep sharpening his skills, many of which he sharpened in the margins of his notebooks during chemistry class. At the age of eighteen, Harry was accepted into the art program at West Virginia University. His philosophy at that time was that it was wise to keep a pool of artistic influences, however foolish to compromise his creative integrity in order to please the faculty. While he did pay close attention to some of the greats, he often wondered why others had become so overrated. He also disagreed with the theory, that everything one might create has already been created in the past. Not so with surrealism, he thought. Not so with abstracts, and while he currently doesn't intend to elicit a specific response from onlookers, he always has their subconscious impressions smoldering in the crosshairs.

Artist Statement

For me, the adventure of creating a painting is not knowing exactly what or who will appear before my eyes until the very seconds in which my brush touches the canvas. My methods are perhaps a bit unconventional. In the instance of painting, I put a few strokes on the canvas, then stand at a distance to see if anything comes to mind. If nothing does, I turn the canvas once or twice, add a few more strokes, then view it again. The first image that I get an impression of is the image that I start to bring forth with conviction. These works are not planned in advance. There are no thumbnails or preliminaries. Intuitively knowing when a work of art is finished is key. Equally important, however, is the creation of an appropriate title. If the viewer makes the connection, they are more apt to admire the work.

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