CED

July 2014

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July 2014 | Construction Equipment Distribution | www.cedmag.com | 49 Someone You Should Know (continued on next page) was building a beautiful new facility. I worked closely with his interior designer to develop paintings that both helped tell the company's story and harmonized with the facility designer's palette." This new development in his career wasn't the first time Burns' attention had been captured by the "smoke- belching, bone-rattling machines" found on construction sites. His interest in construction equipment was piqued at the age of 10 or 12 as he watched the giants convert neighborhood apricot and prune orchards into subdivisions. "Early in my career I spent many hours at construction sites, sketching and creating compositions," he said. "I learned more and more about the equipment with each new project It's a rather dusty work environment, however I find working with my patrons' photographs is a much better way to incorporate details and intricacies." Burns finds artistic inspiration through observation of both machines and workers. His search for the beauty of each scene includes scrutiny of inconspicuous places. "Texture on a rusted bucket, or a piece of equipment that's been painted over and over, with each layer showing through to create a texture with a real story. Those are the details that capture my eye and imagination," he said. The passion and commitment he observes workers investing in construction projects also sparks Burns' artistic muse. "These are people who believe in an honest day's work," Burns said. "They seem to have an innate ability to complete projects and the drive to build both large and small things. I feel privileged to tell their story through art. Each project can get emotional, and I like it like that." Portraits of company founders and executives are often combined with the landscape of a project site. "Many times they have huge grins on their faces," he said. "I think they're happy to be out of their offices and free from paperwork for a few precious hours. They seem to go back to a place when their lives were about moving dirt around and building things for others." Once he's gathered information about a project, Burns begins his image creation in PhotoShop, using a pressure- sensitive tablet. "That gives me the freedom to move things around, change colors, enhance important areas and remove distracting objects. Once I create the digital drawing I transfer the line work to stretched canvas and use either acrylics or traditional oil paint, glazes and varnishes to create the painting," he explained. His canvas material is archival quality duck canvas mounted on traditional stretcher bars with a gallery wrap technique. "The image wraps around the stretcher bars, which is the same process used in art galleries and museums," Burns said. "That eliminates the need for a frame and complements any changing decor because, after all, these paintings will last for generations." Canvas sizes range from as large as 80 inches wide by

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