Ky. Governor’s Derby Exhibit
Prospect’s Burr joins impressive list
Her watercolor to join Derby exhibit
of 27 Kentucky artists
PROSPECT, Ky. (April 2014) – Artist Donna Burr has experimented with painting in a variety of mediums, but she prefers watercolor as her current primary medium choice. Her talent has recently garnered her a spot in the Governor’s Kentucky Derby Exhibit in Frankfort, Ky. She is one of 27 Kentucky artists to earn the distinction, which was announced in March by the Kentucky Arts Council.
Burr, a retired art teacher, said, “I’ve painted in all different mediums all throughout my life. I settled 20 years ago on watercolor. I like the challenge of painting in watercolor because of the transparency effect.”
She is captivated by the light effects of watercolor painting, and enjoys painting water in the form of rivers and lakes. “I like all things natural,” she said.
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Photo provided Donna Burr’s “Hibiscus Sunrise” painting will be on display in the |
Born in Alexandria, La., Burr received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Liberal Studies degree from The College of St. Rose in Albany, New York. After years of teaching in public schools in New York, she and her husband, Fred, retired to Kentucky four years ago.
“I love the rolling hills, green grass and horses,” she said of Kentucky. Burr, 70, lives in Prospect.
The move came as a result of having no family left in New York. Everyone had moved away or passed on, she said.
“We wanted to be close to at least one of our four kids,” Burr said. One of them lives in Kentucky and “my husband was somewhat familiar with the area because he had attended the University of Louisville.”
Fred is originally from Cincinnati.
Burr as scheduled to display her artwork in the exhibit on March 31 in the Capitol Rotunda and remain there through May 5. Visiting hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Rotunda, located at 700 Capital Ave., will be open on Saturday, May 3, during the Derby Celebration for visitors to view the artwork. This exhibit is coordinated by the Kentucky Arts Council.
For the current exhibit, 74 artists submitted entries, with a total of 130 works of art. Burr said she had entered the exhibit just for fun. Her artwork was actually selected for inclusion last year as well.
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| Donna Burr |
“I look forward to the exhibit,” she said. “There is always a broad range of all different kinds of art represented.”
The piece she submitted this year is a watercolor of “larger than life daffodils,” Burr said. She pays a lot of attention to color and details in her artwork.
She likes to paint florals in a specific time of the day, such as night or sunset. Burr also likes to capture the specific time of day in her work, whether it be night, sunset, etc. She said she likes to “put a lot of emotions in pictures.”
In the past, Burr has tried her hand at drawing, clay sculpting, and recently at photography. She sells fine prints (made from her paintings) at the Prospect Gallery & Frame Shop.
Last summer, the Burrs traveled to Giverny, France, to visit French Impressionist painter Claude Monet’s gardens for a photo workshop. After retiring from private law practice in 2007, Fred Burr has seriously pursued his interest in outdoor and landscape photography.
Before taking the trip, Burr had become more interested in photography. The trip was “an opportunity I could not pass up,” she said. She learned many techniques and insights into photography from the workshop.
The Burrs also attended another photo workshop last fall in Nova Scotia, Canada, with the same instructor. “I learned even more about my camera. My husband upgraded equipment for my camera for a Christmas present.”