Charlie Burk

"Nature's Glory"  oil on panel  49" x 97"

"Harmony"  oil on panel  48" x 48"

"Untouched"  oil on panel  48" x 24"

"Sundance"  oil on panel  72" x 96"

Sometimes a single subject completely overtakes an artist. In general I think this is unfortunate. Because what begins as an obsession can quickly become a trap. But it's hard to argue with a trap so delicately and subtly realized that you don't mind residing in it at all.The beauty and real magic of Charlie Burk's
mesmerizing grass studies is how they flirt along the boundaries of abstraction. They're painted on panels allowing the brush to define the long flowing shapes with sharp clarity and the layers are built up with a smooth varnished depth. As a kid I used to lay down upon the grass peering down between the blades to watch ants and other insects scurrying about their business. It felt like peering into a completely separate reality. And there is something of that feeling in these pieces as well. I'm not sure where the artist intends to take this work but I can imagine the hints of sky and horizon gradually vanishing and abstract chaos of all those flowing lines taking over entirely.
The artist does not have a website but you can see more pieces at Winterowd Fine Art, his gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.