Introduction
Ron Mcburnie is an Australian artist. His many achievements are shown through his art and awards. He specializes in print making. Printmaking is a process for producing artwork in ink. First Mcburnie would sketch a picture; he would then etch that picture and print it onto a piece of rag paper. He has created over a hundred prints and has been in many exhibitions.
Artist Background
Ron Mcburnie is an Australian artist whose studio is based in Townsville. He was born in Brisbane on 7th July, 1957. He has achieved many things and won many awards through out his life. His prints are divided up into four themes Pets, Suburban Scenes, Artist’s Studios and Romantic Landscapes. He specialises in print making. A collection of his work is featured in many private and Regional Gallery Collections as well in
Australian State Galleries and the National Gallery of Australia Collection, Canberra. He has won various awards, including the Melvil Hanson Award and the 7th C.P.M. Print acquisition Awards awarded by the Gladstone Regional Art Gallery in 1977. And most recently the Runner up Hutchins invitation Art Award, awarded in Hobart in 2002. Art works he is best known for would be all the prints The Artist Studio. Each one has been sketched in the studio of Australian artist, which are then etched and made into a print. One of the more recent prints is Madonna Stanton’s Studio.
Selected Artwork
A good example of Mcburnie’s realistic style is the print Madonna Stanton’s Studio. It was made in 2002. And was sketched in Madonna Stanton’s art studio, which is in her home. After being sketched it was then etched and made into a print.
Appraising
The print of is Madonna working in her studio, which is in her Queenslander home. The focal point of the print is Madonna Stanton herself and the table in which she is creating her art. The studio is a clutter of art and stationary. In the foreground to the left of Stanton there are shelves of debris, behind that a book case with shelves of stationary. Along the back wall there are various frames of previous artwork and a large open door way that leads to a store room that appears even more cluttered then Stanton’s studio. On the right side of the room is an old wooden piano, with a cat on the stool. Further to the left leads of to another room.
Treatment of Subject Matter
Ron Mcburnie has represented the subject matter realistically and expressive. The print is expressive in the way he has captured the moment of thought and creation as Stanton works. The shading and use of line makes the print look realistic.
Elements of Design
The two most important elements in this print are tone and line. The tone in this image varies, how ever the use of mid tone exceeds the use of any other tone. In the foreground the artist and the bench in which she is working at is a very light tone. In the background the room the tones range from mid tone to dark and grows darker to the right of the room. This creates different emotions in the artwork.
The use of light tones in the foreground makes the artist and her bench the focus. This portrays her to look peaceful as she creates her art. The mid tone in the background directly behind her blends the clutter of objects into a comfortable mess. This is also done with the use of line.
In this print I can see continuous use of thin diagonal lines. They are very geometrical in their use though out the structure of the room. There is little use of organic lines; they are limited to the artist herself and her cat on the piano stool. The lines on the objects are scratchy.
These principles create a variety of emotion. The thin diagonal lines make the only type of formality and order in the room. They are very man made. The scratchiness adds to the mess and makes it blends to create a calm peacefulness even though the room is a clutter of mess.
Principals of Design
The two most visible principles of design are focal point and repetition. The artist has used tone and line to make Madonna Stanton the focal point of the print. She and her work bench are the largest objects; Mcburnie has also used highlight tones on her as to make her the centre of interest. The structure of the house is a repetition of thin vertical lines. Like most of the objects in the room it is a mid tone and helps to blend the background so it is not the focus.
Conclusion
Ron Mcburnie has influenced the way I approached my own print. Similar to Mcburnie’s artwork my print is realistically drawn. The shading on the side of the buildings is scratchy alike the objects in Madonna Stanton’s Studio. The architectural accuracy led me to develop my idea for an exterior architectural print of a city.
For additional information on Ron Mcburnie visit here.
