We recently connected with Elaine Burge and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Elaine , thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I have always had my hand in creative projects since I can remember. I am lucky that I have been able to earn a full time living creating art. It was not like this from day one. I worked over the summers in highschool with a local muralist, I had two jobs in college, one being a mural artist and the other bartending. I painted murals behind miniature train layouts. I don’t know that there is a way that I could have ‘sped it up’. I feel like I learned so many valuable lessons in the time spent working those part-time art jobs. I learned that you are the only one that you can hold accountable for how hard you work at being an artist. I learned that you have to want to learn to figure out who you are as an artist. I learned that you are here to share your gift and if that gift is creating, that it is your duty to refine your skill and share what you create with the world.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Elaine Burge. I am a wife, mother of two young girls, Lucy (6) and Bonnie (3) and I live on an old goat farm in Tennille, Georgia. I need the wide open space to feel at peace and calm and this is where my creativity thrives. I am an artist focusing on abstract expressionism while also covering portraiture and live event painting. I am proud of the work that I have created that feels like a true expression of my thoughts and feelings. I learn every day and with each new piece of work. I hope to take the viewers along this journey with me. I always strive to be true to myself and try to talk myself into taking creative risks that will hopefully satisfy my urge to create. I love to use my hands to make, fix and manipulate mediums. I love to take traditional subject matter including wild game and exotic animals and put a funky twist on them with unexpected color and bold brush strokes. I love creating jewelry from found objects and vintage pieces. I love painting live at events because I feel like it is a throwback to the original way of documenting before cameras were invented. I love that the piece is blank before the special moment and is then a piece of fine art that feels like that moment afterward.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I would say encourage business courses because entrepreneurship may not come naturally to all creatives. There is so much talent out there. I feel like it is a community’s duty to help these creatives learn how to market their skills and contribute to the local society.

Are there any books, videos or other content that you feel have meaningfully impacted your thinking?

Art/Work by Heather Bhandari Art Inc by Lisa Congdon
The Urge to Make Things by Leo Lionni
Find Your Artistic Voice by LIsa Congdon

Contact Info:

• Website: elaineburge.com
• Instagram: @elaineburgeart

Image Credits
Holly Knight Photography