50 Artists: 50 Years of Art in Springfield: 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.