We’re looking forward to introducing you to Rhonda C R Burton. Check out our conversation below.
Rhonda C R, we’re thrilled to have you with us today. Before we jump into your intro and the heart of the interview, let’s start with a bit of an ice breaker: Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
Yesterday my daughter sent me a video of my 15 month old grandson. He was crawling around in his room and he began to play peak a boo with a blanket that was on the ground. He was having so much fun, crawling around, hiding his face and just giggling. I laughed so hard when I saw it, he was so cute. He was having fun and so proud of himself he was so cute.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I was born in the Midwest, my family moved to Los Angeles in the early 1960’s. I always knew art was something I would pursue. After college, I began to paint and teach watercolor and exhibit and sell my work. In the late 1980’s, I put my art career on hold to work in the corporate world, supporting my two young children as a single mother. It took me nearly 30 years to make her way back to creating art, this time through photography and mixed media. My imagery revolved around the beauty of the garden, focusing on color, repetition of pattern and texture. I have always found comfort in nature and in the garden, it has very calming and restorative properties for me. When I began creating art again, it was with photographs. I printed my images on fine art paper and embellished images with color pencil and paints. From photography, I began working on collage and a series of monoprints. My current work includes painting a cyanotype emulsion (an early photographic process) atop my monoprints, then exposing the image to sunlight, thus reimagining and creating a completely different image. I often use a bleach to lift some of the cyan color from the image and add watercolor or color pencil to enhance portions of the piece. I never know what will happen, or how the image will present itself. And that is one of the most exciting parts of this process.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
My sixth grade teacher, Although I knew I wanted to be an artist, it wasn’t anything I said out loud to anyone. At the time, we were studying Mexico and my teacher asked me to stay after class one day. She asked me to create a mural on the wall of the country of Mexico. I was stunned, scared and said no, I didn’t think I could do it. She said, I want you to do this, I know you can do this. I was terrified but she had faith in me, so I did it. When it was finished, I was proud of it and I began to think of myself as an artist. I was thankful she pushed me.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
I would say to my younger self; learn to listen to what your gut is saying to you, and trust that it is the right thing for you to do. There were so many times in my younger life, I didn’t speak up when I knew I should. I let someone else take the lead even when I knew it was not the right thing for myself and my family. I wish I would have listened to myself all those years ago.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
Yeah I think so. I think I am pretty transparent at least I try to be…what you see is what you get from me. Having more than one version of myself makes life way too complicated. Acting or being different in different situations creates too many problems, I like to keep my life as easy as possible.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Yes, now, I am doing what I was born to do. From the time I was a young kid, I knew I would be an artist. Although it hasn’t always been easy and there were many times when it was really truly difficult to continue. I have been fortunate to have taken advantage of the opportunities that presented themselves to me. From creating art, to teaching art, to working in the corporate world and finally to find my way back to creating art again. It is who I am and I am exactly where I am suppose to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://RhondaBurtonart.com
- Instagram: @rhondaburtonart. @kentwood524designs
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