Art & Posters

Aside from his broad popularity, Philip Burke is an artist’s artist whose work has been repeatedly selected for shows and exhibits by artist’s organizations such as Society of Illustrators, Society of Publication Design and Society of Newspaper Design. Philip’s artwork has been highlighted in several books, including, most notably, “The Savage Mirror” in 1993 and “Rolling Stone – The Illustrated Portraits” in 2000. Artists’ respect and appreciation for Burke’s style was demonstrated by the unusual event of Andy Warhol actually sitting for Burke to paint his portrait.

While Burke’s subjects run the gamut of celebrity or newsworthy persons and events from political to business to sports to the arts, his highest energy and vibrancy seem to converge on his rock and roll and political paintings and drawings.

Philip, a Buffalo, New York native, says, “When I was a teen in Buffalo, I wanted to be a rock star, but I couldn’t play any instruments and I was too shy to sing. So, I put my dream into painting and drawing rock stars”. This love of rock and roll is richly demonstrated in his works for Rolling Stone magazine where he was the featured artist for seven years.

Some of Philip’s passion for rock and roll was, in 2002, ensconced in an eight foot guitar where he depicted Pete Townsend on one side and Shirley Manson on the other. The guitar, which was Rolling Stone’s entry into Cleveland’s GuitarMania exhibit, was dubbed “Smash Hit” and displayed upside down, being held by powerful steel arms about to smash it to the floor. The guitar was on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame until it sold at a United Way auction for $30,000.00. In a word, there’s a lot of rock and roll in Philip Burke and a lot of Philip Burke in rock and roll.

His insights into political figures are demonstrated regularly on the front page of the highly acclaimed weekly New York Observer.

While Burke is comfortable “live painting” a 12’ x 8’ mural of his impressions of Florence, Italy and San Francisco in front of thousands of observers, many of his paintings and drawings focus and concentrate on the face of a single subject. In his own words, “A face, particularly the eyes, is an expression of the soul”.

Philip creates a stimulus explosion, uncovering the attitude and emotion in the personality of his subject. Leaving nothing out, he works wholeheartedly, painting intensely and vigorously, making sure to capture his subject’s psyche or aura. Philip works on a deeper, internal and spiritual level, seeing in his subjects what others do not. It’s easy to see why many of his subjects have Burke’s creations of themselves hanging on the walls of their homes.