IBurkee2

1992 THE PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS—–Because Irv was always impressed with this plant, he chose to place it, portrait fashion, in the immediate foreground. The intense blue green of the plant and its weird formation fascinated him. And, also, he found excitement in experimenting with sky colors in all of his paintings.

1993 SEDONA–VIEW FROM SCHNEBLY HILL—–Irv conceived this painting the day we spent hiking high up on Schnebly Hill. The sky was clear, the trees had leafed out, and to see Sedona in the distance was a delight. Not visible were the countless automobiles, the crowds of people–only a serene little town beyond the Red Rocks.

1994 SOAP TREE YUCCA—–During the summer months this tall graceful plant, growing wild everywhere, caught Irv’s attention. It was to him a marvelous detail of the Arizona landscape. He has framed bright flowering groups of them with a large tree branch in the foreground.

1995 FLOWERS OF THE RED ROCKS—-These wild flowers, scattered in front of and between the classic Red Rocks, were always a delight for Irv to come upon. And these he painted as if he was lying on the ground, with his eyes focused on the world at that angle, to give stature to their importance in the landscape.

1996 THE TREE OF LACE AND THE RED-TAILED HAWK—–The cottonwood tree, the circling hawk, a rocky creek, and the enchanting mood of the Red Rocks became this

painting. The skies form an important part of his paintings and the clouds are usually of a dark nature. He seldom painted white clouds. I think he felt that dark ones formed a boundary.

1997 DESERT CEDAR TREE—–Irv created in the dark shadow of the Red Rocks a stage setting for the desert cedar tree– as well as a panorama of the high desert floor with rock configurations retreating far into the horizon. Working with defining distances–

the three dimensional depth of field on a two dimensional surface–was of great interest to him.

1998 SHADOWS OF THE DESERT FLOOR—–This painting was designed to catch a long view of the various ranges of the Red Rocks and their cloned shadows. Irv was often impressed

with the interesting shapes of these shadows which were cast by the light from the low, late afternoon sun.

1999 HIGH DESERT—–The tree with blue green foliage is the signature tree of Irv’s found in many of his landscapes–a tree trunk with globular greenery. It reads simply “tree” whereas the

large tree in the foreground with the web of tiny branches represents his labor of love.

2000 THE FOURTH SEASON—–Carrying memories of living and painting in Colorado for

so many years, Irv was delighted to have this chance to illustrate the season of snow in these Red Rocks. The color red in the rocky cliff is the defining difference, although the background of slanting snow is quite the same.

2001 THISTLES OF THE RED ROCKS—–Irv greatly admired the brilliant purple thistle plant. Hiking among them on the trails of the Red Rocks was always a remarkable experience and that which prompted this painting. Sometimes he adds the Arizona sun to the sky as a special touch as in this one.

2002 SEDONA TAPESTRY—–I assembled this collage by selecting images from Irv’s previous posters and mounting them to create the illusion of a stained glass window.

2003 THE WEST FORK CANYON—–Walking the trail through this chiseled canyon, it revealed the high majestic walls of the Red Rocks and the Spring leafing-out of the slender young trees. Overwhelmed by the quiet beauty, Irv was awestruck and combined what he saw with what he felt. As in all of his landscapes, he paints them from the sketches he reserves in his mind and thoughts.

1992 THE PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS
Because Irv was always impressed with this plant, he chose to place it, portrait fashion, in the immediate foreground. The intense blue green of the plant and its weird formation fascinated him and he truly enjoyed experimenting with sky colors

Irv Burkee Poster:

Page 2 – 1991 & 1992

Page 3 – 1993 & 1994

Page 4 – 1995 & 1996

Page 5 – 1997 & 1998

Page 6 – 1999 & 2000

Page 7 – 2001 & 2002

Page 8 – 2003