Meet Claudia Burns of Ann Arbor

Today we’d like to introduce you to Claudia Burns.

Hi Claudia, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was an was an Ann Arbor-based art educator for over 20 years. Early on I received my BFA and teacher certification from U-M. I taught in Ann Arbor at both private and public schools. My husband and I raised four children in the Water Hill neighborhood, where I still live.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My husband passed away of a sudden heart attack in 2014. It took some time to reframe and reorient my life after that.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I painted in acrylics and worked in mixed media, collaborative mosaics, and wrote icons overlapping my teaching career. I began painting in seriously in oils in 2020. I have been working to develop skills and vision, synthesizing all the information I imparted to my students over the years. I use traditional oil painting methods, layering color over a monochromatic underpainting. I also paint en plein air (outside, done within a few hours) counterbalancing my long-form paintings which often take over a hundred hours to produce.

My intent is to portray a sense of place, familiar spaces that evoke memories of good times with family and friends. My depiction of real life elevates an everyday subject to a place of beauty and honor. Accurate attention to detail and subtle shifts and nuances of value and color bring my work to life

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
With the availability of mass-produced and AI driven artwork is there and will there continue to be a market for the traditional painter? Will the generations to come appreciate the labor of love that is a hand-crafted work of art? The answers to these questions remain to be seen. But I love the work of painting and will continue to do so whether I have sales or not.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://artworkclaudiaburns.com/
• Instagram: @mamaburns52
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mamaburns52art

Image Credits
Photos by Patrick Young