Robert Burridge Contemporary Painter

Robert Burridge, a full time dedicated contemporary painter, teaches the "Loosen Up with Aquamedia Painting®" course at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, and is the inspirational workshop instructor for many California art organizations, including the Palm Springs Artists' Council, the San Diego Water Color Society, and the Mendocino Art Center. Recently he conducted his "Loosen Up" workshop for Art Calendar Magazine aboard an Alaskan cruise ship and at the corporate offices of Daniel Smith Artists' Materials in Seattle, Washington.

He is a sought-after lecturer and demonstrator at the "Art Methods & Materials" convention in Pasadena, sponsored by American Artist Magazine, "Tools of the Trade" in San Francisco and Pearl Paint's "The Great American Art Event" in New York.

"Top California Artist"

Burridge was featured as one of the "emerging artists" in the 1997 Los Angeles Art Expo, and recently acclaimed by the Los Angeles Times as "one of the top ten emerging artists in California." His 1997 serigraphs have won gold medal awards at international printing competitions and his first giclée print, the popular "Cuban & Friends," has appeared in recent issues of Arts & Antiques,Cigar Aficionado, Smoke Magazine, and the Robb Report. His latest serigraph painting, "The Afternoon Recital" was selected and included in the 1998 Grammy Awards© Auction honoring Luciano Pavarotti.

His commercially popular "coffee cup series" of six paintings were reproduced by Starbucks Coffee Company on coffee cups and also as framed prints. Plus, a sold out series of four fruit- and-vegetable prints were for sale through the Williams-Sonoma chain of stores.

Burridge's Painting Technique
Burridge's paintings are created in multiple layers of archival quality paints on textural and brush-worked surfaces then permanently sealed under a clear glaze of an acrylic polymer varnish with ultra-violet filters and light stabilizers for protection from UV damage and humidity. This unique finish allows the original art to be framed without the necessity for protective glass. His paints are also unique: His acrylics are professional grade, conservation quality, French-made watercolor pigments suspended in a copolymer resin. This combination of watercolor and acrylic pigments, whether on paper or canvas, results in a vibrant, thick painting medium. His oil paints are made in Paris by the same company who, since 1887, has continued to hand-mix the purest first-press oil colors for Matisse,Cezanne, Gauguin and Monet.

His style continues to explore and interpret reality in his own passionate, painterly colors. The work has been praised as "happy, intriguing, and powerful." Art critics describe Burridge's work as vibrant, beautiful and masterfully done. "His use of rich, bold color and adventurous texture, while complex, is uplifting." His favorite subjects include "the good life," and features tropical vistas, coastal landscapes, seascapes, impressionistic still lifes, and luscious fruits & vegetables. An art critic recently commented, "This man makes vegetables exciting! He is a very fine painter with a strong artistic voice." His paintings are sold in galleries nationwide and currently hang in corporate spaces, professional offices, public places and private collections.

Burridge was granted the newly-minted Philadelphia Water Color Club's Crest Medal, awarded for "Achievement in the Arts"... the highest honor bestowed upon its members.