We are buried in snow right now, with below zero temps and arctic winds buffeting the house.  It’s a great time to think about the grasses that are dormant beneath the icy layers of snow, just waiting to spring forth in a few months.  And who better to give you the feeling of grassy growth than Santa Fe artist Charlie Burk.

Charlie BurkLuxurious Passage
49×97″ oil on panel

Burke has been painting landscape for over 40 years. His paintings seem a blend of abstraction and realism, with their vibrant colors and grassy stems and seeds.

Charlie BurkSerene Afternoon
48×48″ oil on panel

Burke is one of the artists represented by the Winterowd Fine Art Gallery, one of the galleries that recently participated in the LA Art Show.  The show took place at the LA Convention Center, January 2014. The Winterowd Gallery is located in Santa Fe, and notes that “many of our artists have an enduring fascination with nature that continue to inform and inspire.”

Charlie BurkStride Spirited
24×24″ oil on panel

When walking in the nearby parks here in the Midwest, I am fascinated by the tall prairie grasses. I try again and again to capture their beauty, but don’t seem to quite capture the magic to my satisfaction.  I am a little gratified that they seem to echo the feeling of Burke’s work.

photo by linda oefflingPhoto by Linda Oeffling

illinois prairie grassPhoto by Linda Oeffling

“We find that it’s ever so
In this life’s uneven flow;
We’ve only to wait,
In the face of fate,
For the green grass under the snow”
– from “Consolation”, Annie A. Preston

 

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