ARTIST STATEMENTMy paintings begin as contemplatively measured schematics—using pencil on canvas or paper—that use serendipitously taken reference photographs. As I build out a composition, I am most interested in its abstract qualities: balance, rhythm, proportion, and spatial relationships. Color is added gradually in layers, working from transparent to opaque applications. Specific color choices can be intuitive (felt or remembered) and/or perceptual (observed.) A painting is finished when it feels inevitable to me. I continue to be influenced by what I study, especially by the Postimpressionists, the American realists, and historic photographers. ARTIST BIOGRAPHYBurmeister grew up in southeastern Minnesota, next to the Upper Mississippi River and its backwaters. He was encouraged while an undergraduate student to be a painter and received his M.F.A. from UW-Madison. Since then, his work has been shown regionally in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Doug DeVinny was an important later artistic mentor. Burmeister has also been employed as an educator, designer, art director, writer, and project manager, including the last two decades as a professor and administrator in higher ed. He lives and keeps a studio in Waukesha.