Celebrated for his portraits of people from all walks of life, from Supreme Court justices to New York City exotic dancers, Burton Silverman has been an exhibiting fine artist for nearly 70 years. His talent lies in his ability to capture people as they are, without superficiality or grandiosity. Swaying back and forth between tighter brushstrokes for the finer details and looser “brushiness” for mood and ambiance, he finds the balance between realism and abstraction.
Best known for his rich oil paintings, he’s also worked consistently in watercolor over the years. His portraits take on a new freshness in the medium, with the fluid quality drawing the eye around the picture to take in a stroke here and a blast of color there.
But even after all the honors, and all the years that have gone by, for Silverman, painting is still about the people. “I continue to make paintings of people and their place in our time because I am of that time. Out of that, I hope to make pictures that are timeless.”
