Renowned Artist and Painter Paul VerBurg

Amber LeMay loves to meet amazing new people, and this week is no exception! The amazing artist, Paul VerBurg, spends time with Amber to explore the history and depth of his work, as well as some fun stories from his life. Find out what influenced his career as Paul shows off work from his current exhibit at the Evanston Art Center, as well as his sculptures, landscapes, and even his incredible series of cowboys of the American west. Paul also has a big announcement to make to the Amber Live community. PAUL VERBURG verburgstudio.com Paul VerBurg is a full time artist and painter, trained in drawing and painting at The Art Institute of Chicago (BFA), and Art Center College of Design. A recent transplant from Arizona, he now lives in Okemos, Michigan. Experimentation with media and blending of genres began for him in the 1980’s. The majority of his work now focuses on the abstract qualities found in the physical world and translating them into drawings and paintings. His current studio practice includes not only oil on canvas painting, but drawing and sculptural/assemblage work. His earlier more traditional cowboy work was seen in several national museum shows (Eiteljorg Museum, Autry Museum of the American West, Wichita Art Museum, and the Museum of Northern Arizona), as well as galleries from coast to coast. His work has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine, and Art of the West. “Over the years the evolution of my artistic endeavors came about organically. For 35 years I was largely self-taught and my practice followed what I could learn on my own from artist books and viewing original work. I began by drawing and painting the people and life around me. Rodeo was a part of my life then, and the landscape was easily accessible, so my subjects were what I knew, the people and the land and my imagery reflected that realism. But I’ve always been drawn to the American Modernists and the Abstract Expressionists so early on I made a conscious choice to always begin work with an eye toward the abstract qualities of an image. When I turned 50, I went back to school to see if I was missing out on anything … the resulting work I am very happy with. My current show ISOLATION AND INTROSPECTION, at the Evanston Art Center, Evanston Illinois, is up until February 18th."