Christopher Burch is an artist living in Lynchburg, Virginia, who grew up with art and has actively pursued oil painting as a primary artistic medium for over twenty years. Burch is currently best known for painting large expansive works where his value for abstraction is expressed in the skies and waters of his landscapes. His paintings open up into seemingly endless horizons where the timelessness of the earth and sky are melded into a unified, formal composition. Some of his most common subjects are the Outer Banks of North Carolina; Jamestown, Virginia; and the endlessly scenic Virginia countryside.
Burch says, “In my paintings I seek to create a sense of place where the natural world around is brought into the interior space. I aim to create works that can serve as a focal point for the interior, and when needed, can recede into the backdrop of daily living. Therefore, the size, scale and openness of my original works are important to achieve the end effect.” Speaking of what his work conveys, Burch continues, “The images that I produce impact viewers on at least two levels of appreciation and or experience: nature, history. In regard to nature my work is primarily about how light, air and earth interact in the natural world and about how the combined effect of these elements, as they exist in simply beautiful places, can bring about a profound experience of wonder and awe. In regard to history, my work is also about how natural elements interact with awareness of place and its associated historical meaning. This aspect of my work lends a great deal of variability in depth of experience for viewers. Although for some, the historical meaning of a particular place may not be in reach at first viewing, it is certainly not out of reach.”
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