Art by Mary Rochelle Burnham

Portrait of a Young Lady , watercolor, 14x10" available I am pleased to announce that I will be giving a two day portrait workshop in Jackson, MI, June 5-6. Please click here to download the flyer.

Her Gaze, Oil, 10 x 8", available Adrienne is a petite young woman with the most compelling gaze. The shadows are painted very thin and the light values, especially in the face, are impasto. My intent was to show some interesting brush work in this 2.5 hour sketch from life.

Lost in Thought , Oil on Panel, 12x9"   SOLD Heather was our model at Open Figure Studio. I was quite pleased with the outcome from the dramatic backlighting. I was working on a fairly dark toned panel. This piece just flowed without much pressure. I am not sure who was lost in thought more, myself or the model?

Pulse of New York , Color pencil on paper, 7 x 5" SOLD Yet, another Daily Paintworks Challenge! I love doing figures, and I have already done an oil painting on this theme, All A Twitter . Many of you have commented on the use of my color on the DPW site. I love color, it is music for my eyes! New York is pretty drab, but definitely an exciting place. Color is what excites me and is a good metaphor for the sounds, smells and intensity of the city as well as the look in this woman's posture and face. Here is my second version in acrylic: Pulse of New York 2 , Acrylic on panel, 7 x 5" SOLD I haven't worked in acrylic lately, other than demonstrating for my students. Thought I'd give in a whirl! I used a limited palette and like the subtle difference in the color scheme.

Dominique , Oil, 14 x 11", available Wednesday was our portrait session in Tecumseh, and Dominique was our wonderful model. I spent about two hours minus breaks on this study. Dominique was a very energetic girl and this was her first time modeling. The arm resting on her head was her idea and although a difficult pose for her and for us, everyone did a fantastic job! I took some good photos and perhaps will develop this into a more finished piece.

All A Twitter , Oil on Canvas, 20 x 16" SOLD My husband and I were out at a park last summer and I was taking photos. I have a pretty good zoom lens on the camera, so I was able to snap photos of people doing 'their thing' undetected. I took some snap shots of this young lady and worked out some ideas. I love the light, shadow and the many angles of this composition. It seems rather abstract to me. It is reminiscent of a pinwheel that spirals down to the phone in this girl's hand. I just imagined that she was probably texting her 'honey bunny', her heart was going 'pitter patter', and she was 'all a twitter'! All said, it was just another quiet summer day in the park.