Jean Burdick

Botanical illustrations and ornamental patterns are all forms of natural and human-made design that I explore in my work. I am intrigued by patterns interacting to create new, implied and unexpected relationships. Some paintings are punctuated with faint or fading diagrams or text composed of botanical/life cycles. The diagrams become a reminder rather than a replica.

Elements of the natural world are often magnified, overlapped or obscured in my paintings and works on paper. The scale is altered with fragmented sections of textures and patterns densely layered. Repeated surface patterns obscure fleeting images that lie beneath what the viewer observes. These suspended images weave their way through textured space or simply float.

My work can be viewed as a detailed investigation into forms, textures and patterns in nature. By association, each panel in my work can be viewed as either a separate unit or combined to become a part of a larger whole. By offering layers of colors, textures and information without immediate or specific meaning my work allows for multiple interpretations. The viewer is free to observe recognizable visual patterns and the interaction between one and another. Overall they comment on the interrelated and interconnected systems of the natural world.