Caribbean Beach - Grand Cayman

Acrylic on canvas 36 x 48 by Brendan Burns

This is painted from various photographs and memories of Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman. If you have been there then you will recognize this type of scenery. The water, like most of the Caribbean, is a lucid blue that is difficult to accurately describe as it changes naturally with the sunlight, or cloud cover and time of day. It is often vivid turquoise with areas of lime green and darker blue where there is sea grass or deeper water. The contrast between the water, the sky and the white sand and green palms is simply poetic. I could paint scenes like this for a very long time. The shadows of the palm leaves dance in the sunlight on the sand and the waves roll gently onto the beach most of the time. I look forward to painting many more images from my travels in the Caribbean and to a dedicated exhibition of my paintings.

Sunrise at Stonehenge

Oil on canvas 32 x 42 by Brendan Burns

This painting was in my head for a long time. I have been to Stonehenge many times and occassionally the weather can be very dramatic.

I whitnessed this incredible sunrise elsewhere but combined the rolling landscape of Stonehenge with this firey red sky in the morning.

The painting took a few weekend sessions to complete.

Copy of The Starry Night - Van Gogh

Acrylic on canvas 29 x 36 by Brendan Burns

This is a study or copy of one of Van Gogh's most famous paintings the Starry Night, that Vincent painted in 1889.

I painted this in acrylic often applying paint directly onto the canvas from the tube, it took two days to finish.

Vicktory Dog - Handsome Dan

Acrylic on Belgian Linen 16 x 16 by Brendan Burns

This was a commission from a dog trainer called Erin as a gift to her clients in recongnition of the heroic and weary life that this little charming pit bull has lead.

The dog's name is " Handsome Dan" - a Vicktory Dog maybe you have seen him in the news lately.

They are well known as the Vicktory Dogs - 22 pit bulls seized from ex-NFL star Michael Vick and placed in special care at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. They're there because they had nowhere else to go. The work that Best Friends are doing to give back a quality of life to these dogs is very admirable.

Erin from 'Community Canines' commissioned the portrait to honor the hard work that the new adopters of Handsome Dan had done during the year. Dan's story is a triumph for the compassionate pet-rescuing people that care for and rehabilitate dogs at risk.

Check out the links for those interested in following the story - load these into your browser URL window or click on the heading of this Blog Post to go to Bestfriends.org

http://news.bestfriends.org/
http://www.communitycanines.com

English Springer Spaniel

Acrylic on 16 x 16 Canvas by Brendan Burns

Here's a nice portrait I finished at the end of 2009 of a black and white English Springer Spaniel called Lucy. It was quickly painted on Belgian Linen - dimensions are 16 x 16 inches. I was lucky to have a great detailed photograph which helped, I think I caught the expresion just right.

Labrador Puppy

Black labrador puppy painted in acrylic on MDF panel 16 x 20 by Brendan Burns. I made up the composition and decided to place the dog coming out of a cardboard box - I didn't know at the time that this was how he arrived at his new home. When I delivered the painting it was a big surprise as it reminded everyone of their first memories of meeting their new puppy.

Boxer Dog

. Acrylic on fine canavs 16 x 20 painted by Brendan Burns. This is a potrait of a Boxer Dog called Guiness.

Miniature Schnauzer

Painted in 2009 in acrylic on a 12 x 12 Gesso Panel by Brendan Burns.
This is a portrait of Carmen a miniature Schnauzer enjoying her dip in the ocean and drying off on the beach surrounded by shells.