Burde and his watercolor "Rock Garden" at the Ridgewood Art Institute

landscapes
down the shore
people & wildlife
still lifes & interiors
downscapes
drawings & stuff

artist's statement

Kenneth Burde has been painting scenes in and about New Jersey for over 40 years. Burde has studied with Morton Birkin, Samuel Brecher, James Carlin, Robert Conover, Ben Jones, Dorothy Dierks Hourihan and at The Art Students League and Parsons New School of Design in New York City. He is a graduate of the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art, and holds Graduate and Post-Graduate Degrees from New Jersey City University, and Montclair State University in Fine Arts and Education. Ken has taught Fine Arts  for the Belleville Public School District for more than 32 Years in Belleville, NJ and is an Adjunct Professor of Fine Art at Essex County College. He paints in watercolor as well as other mediums and takes on commissioned work. Burde is an Associate Member of the Allied Artists of America, National Watercolor Society, the New Jersey Watercolor Society, a member of the Monmouth County Art Council and an exhibitor at the City Without Walls Gallery in Newark NJ. His honors include inclusion in Who's Who in American Art as well as Who's Who among American Educators. "I enjoy the versatility that  paint has as a medium. It affords me the opportunity to look at the world around me, and re-create it in a different perspective using splashes of color and value. The images I paint usually come from my day to day travels... sometimes powerful landscapes (like waterfalls), sometimes small, almost insignificant sights that attract my eye.  I like to give the impression in my compositions that someone might've there about 5 minutes ago.  I also like to experiment with the way things are viewed... I enjoy painting landscapes from aerial views rather than looking straight out at eye level... the juxtaposition of organic coastal areas I visit, next to man-made geometric structure fascinates me"