Don Burgess: Combining hot rods and watercolors

50 Artists: 50 Years of Art in Springfield
Celebrating arts and culture in our community

Featured in The Springfield Beacon (November 21, 2007)


Don Burgess: Combining hot rods and watercolors

ByAustin Berger
For the Beacon

“I’m a car guy … they’ve fascinated me since the day I was able to see them.” says Don Burgess. With early memories of racing his ’36 Ford Coupe (his first car) through the streets of Medford and the surrounding Rogue Valley, it’s easy to understand the fascination -- a fascination that comprises the bulk of this 72-year Northwest native’s painting portfolio.

With a tenacity to plan his realistic watercolors with diligence, Don has found a joyous lifelong hobby which, like his hobby for cars, he finds endless time for tuning up to keep things running smoothly.

Inspiration to Begin: Don answers in the language of "maybes". No turning point or single defining moment exists for him. Art has been a part of his life from a very early age. As he puts it, it “probably” started with his parent’s best friend, an art teacher at a local private school. He fondly remembers the opportunities’ he was granted in grade school; a local program selected him for an arts workshop at the University of Washington. “They would go around the grade schools, and they would take 50 kids from every school. I went two years in a row” says Don, who fondly remembers the freedom he experienced, being allowed to use any media they choose and paint whatever they wished. “They never told you ‘here, you must paint this.’”

Soon enough though, paints were traded in for petrol, as he had entered his hot-rod phase. And soon enough, he had a long respectable career in retail. For decades, art was put on the back burner, until “probably” 25 years ago. “I was probably at a car show and I got inspired.” says Don. No matter how he got back into the fray, he has done so with a full-heart, taking an active role in the activities of the Emerald Art Center, organizing gallery functions and workshops.

Mentors: Don remembers words of wisdom from an artist from Eastern Oregon: “Watercolor is the hardest to learn, but the easiest to do after you’ve learned it." "I kind of agreed with that," he says. While the art teachers of his childhood appear mostly forgotten, he credits two watercolorists as his mentors: Jeanne Hammond Elliot, and workshop leader and fellow Rogue Valley artist, Judy Morris. Both of these teachers helped teach him an invaluable lesson for all watercolor artists and perhaps all artists in general: plan your drawing before even picking up a brush. “A lot of artists will start painting, and if it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work,” says Don. “With this, you can the image out ahead of time, and then you can say this will work.”

Art and Quality of Life: “I find it fascinating to take a white piece of paper and just have something appear on it.” says Don. With numerous workshops and events at the gallery, which in turn feeds his hobby, art has certainly livened up his retirement. Never one to waste his days watching daytime TV, Don enjoys taking life by the wheel and going for a nice Sunday cruise. Fully restored, with a creme paint job and a gold interior, his ’67 Chevelle Super Sport has been the winner in the second largest all-Chevelle car show two years in a row for “best ’67 Chevelle” (as well as 45 other trophies). Being the road tripper that he is, he makes an annual pilgrimage out to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, a proverbial Mecca for automotive enthusiasts. The trip combines his two favorite subjects to paint: hot rods and Red Rock desert.

His legacy as an artist: Don admits unapologetically that he has not put much thought into his legacy as an artist, and he couldn’t be happier. “I paint things that please me. Cars and deserts. I paint for myself, it’s not a business to me.” He brings along his prints to the Salt Flats, selling them to kindred spirits coming as far away as Texas, Missouri, Maine, and New Zealand. He also plans on producing a small book as well as a calendar for his most recent batch of prints from his 50th anniversary road trip with his wife.

Don also thinks that art is a great thing to get your kids into at an early age, which can blossom into a lifelong hobby. “Eventually your body will tell you ‘I don’t want to work anymore.’” he says. But like his Chevelle, art has the ability, provided a few tune-ups, to last through the ages.

"No Glare Rusty" by Don Burgess

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About The Artist:

Birthplace: Seattle

Media of choice: Watercolor

Favorite place to do art: Home studio

Favorite subjects to paint: Hot Rods and Desert Landscapes (Red Rock Country)

Arts Organizations: Emerald Art Center (Member - Board of Directors); Watercolor Society of Oregon
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All art images and photos of the art are copyright of the artist.



"Red Roadster" by Don Burgess



"Storm Over the Steens" by Don Burgess


"Jacksonville Pit Stop" by Don Burgess

Lorraine Austin: Resilient spirit

50 Artists: 50 Years of Art in Springfield
Celebrating arts and culture in our community

Featured in The Springfield Beacon (November 14, 2007)


Lorraine Austin: A living testament to the strength of the human spirit.

By Austin Berger
For the Beacon

The word “resilient” may not do enough to describe Lorraine Austin. But you will be hard pressed to find another word to describe this 33-year-old Eugene resident.

An old-schooler at heart, Lorraine doesn’t tell her age. Whatever it may be, she seems to have youth and vigor in abundance, making a constant triumph in the face of daunting circumstances.

Inspiration to begin: Lorraine found her muse back East, working as a secretary in her 20’s. Her boss seemed to have an attention span that left a lot to be desired, wandering off at the slightest action happening outside his window. “Whenever I had to take down a letter for him, it would take so long…so I drew eyes,” says Lorraine.

Her doodles soon became a full-blown hobby, trading in eye sketches for oil paintings.
Oils turned to watercolors when she moved out to Lane County in the mid ‘70s, having bartered watercolor lessons in exchange for organ lessons.

Lorraine says she enjoys the unpredictability of watercolors, in where “mistakes” dry up and can turn into something beautiful. A longtime member, Lorraine fondly remembers the Emerald Art Center back at its tinier, humbler beginnings. “It was so cozy, so small…It was like a home away from home.”

Ten years ago, her art, as well as the rest of her suffered a devastating setback. Getting ready for work, she suffered an ischemic stroke on the left side of her brain. “I couldn’t talk. I understood what I said, but nobody else could… I was like a baby.”

Lorraine says that the stroke left her “laughing,” and instead of being “morbid” about her situation, she approached it with a light heart. She has spent the last ten years steadily making an astonishing recovery. She threw away her cane and eventually learned how to walk on her own, despite a fall that shattered her confidence for a time a few years back. After that, she fought tooth and nail to get her drivers license back. Soon enough, she was back to painting watercolors with the same diligence as she once before, if not better.

Mentors: The stroke did take an irreversible toll on Lorraine. Although she regained many of the functions of the right side of her body, she lost function of her drawing hand. “One day I was in physical therapy, and they gave me a paint set…I thought it was all over for me.”

Barbara Nechis, a renowned watercolor painter and instructor, encouraged her to do something she never thought possible – to paint with her left hand. Five to six years later, she’s finally felt comfortable in doing watercolors again, all with her left hand. She also credits Rebecca Mann, another renowned watercolor artist for her loose style of beauty, a style Lorraine aspires to.

Art and Quality of Life: Lorraine's art has left her quite busy. After painting watercolors for the past twenty years, she has been sharing her knowledge for the past one and a half years, teaching watercolor classes at both the Emerald Art Center and the River Road Parks and Recreation Center. “I’ve met so many people…it’s been great,” she said.

Although finding her niche in watercolors, Lorraine is also pursuing different styles such as "negative" painting where you essentially paint everything, but the thing that you are painting. She also plans on selling her individually hand-painted cards, humorously titled “trash” -- but they could be anything but.

Her legacy as an artist: Lorraine's legacy, in a sense, has already been made by adding her own fully copyrighted 3-color wheel system. By utilizing the basic red, blue and yellow, she is able to generate palettes for certain tones: delicate palette, standard palette, opaque palette, etc.

She’d like future artists to plan ahead as far as their finances. “It’ll cost you a fortune,” Lorraine warns, but the benefits are great.

Lorraine Austin's legacy, if anything, is by her own life experience -- a living testament to the strength of the human body and spirit.

Prints of Lorraine’s Austin work, and soon her handmade cards, are for sale in the Emerald Art Center Gift Shop.

"Before" by Lorraine Austin

"After" by Lorraine Austin

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About the Artist:

Hometown: Malden, Mass.

Media of Choice: Watercolors

Favorite Place to do art: At home

Favorite Subjects to paint: Flowers

Arts Organizations: Emerald Art Center (member/teacher)

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Bonnie Sandland: Serendipitous Talent for Nature Painting

50 Artists: 50 Years of Art in Springfield
Celebrating arts and culture in our community

Featured in The Springfield Beacon (November 7, 2007)


Bonnie Sandland: Jasper native stumbled upon a talent she never knew she had.

By Austin Berger
For the Beacon

It would seem that an ostrich doesn’t take kindly to having his or her picture taken. “I took its picture, and then he tried to eat my camera,” says Bonnie Sandland regarding her most recent piece, “Balderdash,” inspired by an Ostrich at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon. One could guess it comes with the territory, and it’s definitely worth it.

With her photorealistic shots of nature, this 60-year old Jasper native may appear like a seasoned veteran; but looks can deceiving. Truth be told, her talent is something of a serendipitous affair.

Inspiration to begin: Bonnie's inspiration didn’t derive so much from a desire to draw, but of what she had a desire to draw. She’s always had a loving relationship with nature. Growing up in California, she found a serene appreciation for it on the fishing trips she took with her dad in the reservoirs near Modesto. The car trips alone always had her looking out the window, looking for the bird on a telephone pole. Proverbially speaking, she still looks for that bird, having her weekly scenic drive to church in Blue River serving as a constant well for inspiration.

Despite her longtime love of nature, and a longstanding dexterity with sewing and stitching, Bonnie never picked up a paintbrush until 2001. Paul, her husband of 35 years, had a voucher from the Emerald Art Center for a day long oil painting class. But, having to take a business trip, Bonnie went instead.

“Seven hours later, I had a painting.” says Bonnie, whose newfound talent took the notice of the teacher, Shirley Reade. “Shirley came up to me and asked me how long I’ve been painting. I told her ‘for seven hours.’… I had a talent that I didn’t even know I had.”

Mentors: Being exclusively a nature painter, Bonnie regards Terry Isaac, a world-renowned nature painter from the Northwest as a mentor with great reverence. This kindred spirit of sorts was teaching classes in Salem. Bonnie and Shirley Reade, whom Bonnie also credits as a mentor from the beginning, would often trek up the I-5 corridor for 65 miles to catch his class. “Oh, we’d pick his brain,” says Bonnie laughingly. “We didn’t go to learn to draw. We went there to be taught.” She also credits her husband for being her “resident critic,” and thus helping her make a better picture.

Art and Quality of life: When one learns how to be trained in anything, the logic he or she possesses can either become a weight that anchors them in one place or wings that take them anywhere. In Bonnie’s case, it appears to be a latter, with art showing her that within the serenity of nature, there is also complexity. “You see everything differently: the birds flying by, the colors, textures, faces…It’s almost like you took the blinders off and became aware of your surroundings.”

In addition to her newfound perspective, Bonnie also gets to hone her baking skills about twice a month. Having earned the affectionate title of “cookie lady,” she bakes six dozen chocolate chip, peanut butter, and raisin cookies; all of which find their way to the trays and bowls of the Emerald Art Center Gallery.

Her legacy as an artist: Like many people involved in the Emerald Art Center, and perhaps artists in general, family comes first to Bonnie. Having five children and 14 grandchildren, she wants every one of them to have something of hers. For everyone else, she simply hopes that her paintings will do a good enough job in helping the viewer appreciate nature as much as she does. If people viewing her art could learn one thing, in her own words is this: “It’s a beautiful world we live in.”

You can see Bonnie Sandland’s paintings at the Willamalane Adult Activity Center at 215 West C St. in Springfield. Also, beginning Nov. 28, 2007, her art will be on display at the Oregon Community Credit Union in Thurston.

"Balderdash" by Bonnie Sandland

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About the Artist:

Birthplace: Modesto, California

Favorite type of media: Acrylics

Favorite subjects: Animals and landscapes (anything that’s nature)

Arts organizations: Emerald Art Center

Awards: Various ribbons at Mayor's Art Show in Springfield; 2nd place 2004 North Light Book Club award.

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