Artist Presents Work To Costa
Rican President-Elect
By Eryn Phillips
What began as a project decorating her
sister’s condominium in Costa Rica turned
into an event when Tuscaloosa artist Irene
Burns, 53, found herself presenting one of
her paintings to Costa Rican President-elect
Laura Chinchilla.
Irene Burns sits with Costa Rican
president-elect Laura Chinchilla.
One of Burns' paintings will hang in the
Chinchilla office.
While helping her sister with the decorating
project, Burns found that the country held
endless opportunities for her to paint,
especially the landscapes, her favorite
subject.
“Whatever landscape I’m around, I can find
an idea to paint,” Burns said. “There isn’t
a place that doesn’t have some kind of
beauty.”
Burns said she worked for three weeks
painting a large portrait of the mountains
and the sky that she couldn’t bring back to
Tuscaloosa because she was afraid it would
be ruined by the time she got home. She then
came up with the idea to attempt to contact
Chinchilla and present her with the
painting.
Laura Chinchilla was elected on February 8,
and is the first woman to to win the
presidency in the country. She will
officially take office on May 8. According
to her Website, Chinchilla wants to
strengthen ties with the United States
regarding the drug war and women’s health
while in office.
While not anyone can contact the
President-elect, Burns said her sister’s art
agent first attempted to contact
Chinchilla’s staff about arranging a
meeting,
“Her staff called me back the day after we
first tried to contact her and wanted to
arrange a meeting at her house,” Burns said.
“I was so excited that she wanted to meet
with me.”
During the meeting which lasted 15 minutes,
Chinchilla asked the artist how much she
wanted for the painting, but Burns said she
wanted the president-elect to have it for
free as long as she would use it.
“She was a very humble and lovely lady,”
Burns said. “She told me that the painting
was going to go in her office when she is
inaugurated.”
Burns has been painting since her childhood
and has been working in Tuscaloosa for more
than 20 years. She currently works for Matt
Clinton Designs, where her work is on
display and can be purchased.
Burns said she only works with oils now
because they do not dry as fast as
watercolors or acrylic paint.
“I never want a ‘painted yesterday’ look to
my art,” she said. “With oil painting, the
colors don’t dry as fast so I can always
change my mind and make changes to a
painting.”
Burns said the hardest part about finishing
the piece that was presented to Chinchilla
was knowing when to stop painting.
“I kept asking myself if the sky looked too
strong and if anyone was going to believe
that a place so pretty actually exists,”
Burns said. “But when I presented it to her,
she said, ‘This is my Costa Rica.”’
The painting was the first that Burns has
presented to a public figure and she said
she feels honored that the president-elect
was so kind and gracious about receiving the
painting. |
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