Date: Fri 24-Jul-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Burke-artist-Pomeroy

Full Text:

An Artist's Calling Cards, From Napkins To T-Shirts

(with cuts)

Even Patrick Burke's most whimsical art pulls a viewer in and dares him to

walk by without taking a closer look. Once one starts looking, there's no

telling where Burke's paintings will take him. Burke's have a way of unlocking

one's imagination and opening windows into what Mr Burke calls "the universal

soul."

Mr Burke's work is currently finishing a month-long display at Gallery 13 in

Danbury, that has been coupled with pieces by Walter H. Von Egidy and Tim

McCord in an exhibition called "Beneath The Surface: where the unconscious

meets reality." That show remains on view until July 31. In August, Mr Burke

will be featured in a one-man show at McLaughlin Vineyards in Sandy Hook.

Before deciding to present Mr Burke at its gallery, members of the board of

directors from Gallery 13 visited the artist's studio. Jennifer Pomeroy, a

member of the gallery's board, saw Mr Burke's work for the first time on that

trip.

"He uses anything he can find," she said recently, "from bottle caps to

fingernails. His work is very primitive, and he really gets into that aspect

when he's creating, when he uses his hands." Instead of using a brush, she

said, Mr Burke will use a stick or a bottle cap, or even his fingers, to apply

paint to some of his pieces.

"His work is very primitive in its approach, and the result," she said.

Mr Burke has journeyed far from his amateur status beginnings. He has come a

long way from the days when he attended Western Connecticut State University

in Danbury. An award-winning, well respected artist today, there is no

question the New Milford-based artist has attained success.

"No one, no school, prepares you for life as an artist," Mr Burke says with a

soft laugh. He is the quintessential artist.

"You don't really have a choice when it comes to being an artist. You just

have to do it.

"As an artist, you learn from doing. The best teachers guide you to find art

within yourself. They don't hold your hand or show you how to hold a brush,"

said Mr Burke, who has had some good teachers and often teaches art as a

substitute teacher himself.

"Early in my career I moved to New York and was exhibiting at the East Village

Gallery. An art critic fell in love with my work, gave it rave reviews and put

it on the cover of ArtSpeak . It was accompanied by a feature story and a

photo layout.

"I was so naive. I thought that I was going to be rich quick. I was sure that

when people read that article and saw my art on the cover, they were going to

come into the gallery in droves and buy up all my work. That's not what

happened." Once again he laughs.

Armed with a college degree in graphic design and skilled as an illustrator,

Mr Burke took on odd jobs and acquired a long list of clients, including The

New York Times , Revlon, Kree International, The Bridgeport Post and The New

Haven Register . His determination to work as a fine artist kept him moving

from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again.

"I've done everything from freelancing and illustrating to framing and

teaching, and designing and selling my own T-shirts," he said.

Distinguished with awards such as the WCSU Purchase Award, the Pastel Society

of America Award, a Richter Arts Association Award, and a Milford Fine Arts

Council Award for Best Pastel, Mr Burke's works have made their way into fine

collections all over the country. Collectors from Connecticut to California

are especially drawn to his "archetypal symbolism" and "essential figures,"

characteristics that point to a highly refined, yet nearly primitive, approach

to art.

The opening for the ongoing Danbury show attracted much positive attention for

Mr Burke's work, and that of the other two artists participating in "Beneath

The Surface," said Jennifer Pomeroy. On opening night alone, four of Mr

Burke's works were sold.

"We've had a lot of response, there's been a lot of good response, from his

work," she said. "People seem to really like it."

Throughout this artist's odyssey, he has shifted increasingly toward an art of

intense individualism. He is reluctant to label or categorize his work. Even

in his commissioned representational work and traditional and photo-realistic

paintings -- which his current art is decidedly not -- his energetic,

calligraphic, painterly style still comes through as definitively as any

signature.

While his calling card tends to be black and white, charcoal and abstract,

whenever he needs to make a quick sale, he whips up what he calls his "bar

room napkin art," which he does draw on bar napkins. Then he frames each and

sells them for the modest price of $100-$200 each.

"[People] find his napkin drawings very interesting," Ms Pomeroy commented.

These are wildly fanciful creations that play counterpoint to his serious,

larger works. Nonetheless, even in the whimsical pieces, the depth and breadth

of the artist comes through undeniably.