SIGRID BURTON All Ages

Sigrid Burton is an American abstract artist whose direct observations of weather and natural phenomena inspire her paintings. Burton primarily uses color and mark making to explore her observations of the natural world. Her paintings do not display things as they really look in real life, rather present her own impressions of the world around her. In this painting, there is a large field of turquoise, broken up by lines and shapes of bright colors. Burton’s use of complementary colors, or colors on opposite ends of the color wheel, helps to direct, or move, your eye around the surface.

• What other techniques has Burton used to move your eye around the canvas?

• Where do you see complementary colors interacting on the canvas?

• How would you describe the line marks Burton has used? Sigrid Burton (American, born 1951), Frenesi,1979. Oil on canvas, 91 1/8 × 61 1/8 × 2 in. Gift of Selig Sacks and Laura J. Colangelo, 1986. MF86.23

COLOR FIELD + LIGHT AND SPACE KEY TERMS

Abstract artists, such as Sigrid Burton, are often inspired by their emotional COLOR FIELD responses to the natural world. But they also draw inspiration from the COMPLEMENTARY artists and art movements that came before them. The Color Field and Light COLORS and Space movements inform Burton’s work as she searches for the sublime in the natural world. COLOR FIELD MOVEMENT The Color Field movement is a style of abstract art that started in New York LIGHT AND SPACE City in the 1940s and 1950s. Color Field artists, such as Mark Rothko and MOVEMENT Helen Frankenthaler, created works of art where color was the main subject CREATIVE and source of creative inquiry. Color Field is characterized by large fields of INQUIRY solid color, creating a flat plane. MARK MAKING The Light and Space movement began in southern California in the 1960s. By exploring the characteristics of light and geometric abstraction, Light and ABSTRACT ART

Space artists such as James Turrell often use artificial light in their work. ABSTRACTION MATERIALS: IT’S YOUR TURN PAPER OR CANVAS, TEMPERA OR ACRYLIC PAINT, COLOR FIELD PAINTING WAX CRAYONS

Sigrid Burton’s painting Frenesi, meaning frenzy in Spanish, highlights Bruton’s use of color and mark making. Mark making is a technical term used to describe the different lines, patterns and textures created in art. Explore mark making on a color field to create an abstract work of art.

DIRECTIONS

1. Begin by painting an entire canvas or piece of absorbent paper with a solid color. The color you select will influence the atmosphere of the painting, so choose this color carefully. The color field does not need to be uniform—try­ adding texture 1 and color variations using a sponge, washcloth, or paintbrush to achieve a textured field. Let dry completely.

2. Practicing making marks with crayons on a separate sheet of paper. Study Frenesi for inspiration, observing how Burton uses thin line and small geometric shapes to break up the color field.

3. Once your painting is dry, use crayon to make marks on the painting. Choose your mark making strategically, leaving most of the painting open to the color field and adding marks in a way that frames and highlights the field.

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