AJ Burns

AJ Burns: Breathing Life into Colours

AJ Burns' artistic journey has been a testament to the enduring nature of creativity. Though he painted prodigiously as a child, he faced discouragement from teachers and family during his high school years. As the world tried to suppress his artistic spark, AJ turned to civil engineering, swapping paintbrushes for setsquares and pencils.

After thriving as an entrepreneur in both the UK and South Africa, he ventured into the world of vodka distillery. However, the advent of Covid prohibition left him at a crossroads. It was during this uncertain period that AJ rekindled his artistic flame. A chance art class with an old friend led him back to the world of acrylics, a staggering 35 years after he had set them aside.

AJ's unique approach to painting emerged from curiosity and circumstance. In a garage without electricity, he experimented with the movement of paint. Lacking conventional tools, he resorted to blowing air with his own breath, watching in awe as one color gracefully danced through another.

Today, AJ continues to infuse life into his abstract masterpieces. With a deliberate yet unpredictable technique, he layers one color upon another and then breathes his own life into the canvas, creating vibrant and evocative compositions. His paintings become a burst of energy, a symphony of colors and textures that provoke a spectrum of emotions.

"The unpredictability of it fascinates me," AJ enthuses. "The paint seems to come to life; it keeps moving even when I've finished. And the colors evolve during the drying process, which can take up to two weeks in winter. It's always exciting to come back the next day to see what's happened to the painting."

In AJ Burns' world of art, creativity knows no bounds, and the canvas is a dynamic realm where colors and emotions entwine, breathing life into each stroke and reminding us that creativity is timeless.