Marina Burke is a visual artist, who lives and creates in The Beach, Toronto.


Artist's statement

'Art has been always a part of my life in one form or another. Born and raised in Saratov, Russia I was influenced by the turn of XX century impressionists, modernists and constructivists. My favourite portraitist is Valentin Serov, and like him I am fascinated by the process of creating portraits of the people around me. Toronto offers a wealth of subjects for my portraits. It has a unique crossroads of different races and nationalities. Every person has his or her own charm, energy and story to tell through their appearance, and in such a manner translates into the inspiration for my works. 

I like to create art to express my love for the city's inhabitants, history, architecture and its changing seasons.

I work in charcoal, pastel, acrylic, oils and watercolour preferring pastels and charcoal for fast and expression rich portraits.

After moving to Toronto, I had the privilege to attend numerous workshops and classes with a number of Toronto-based artists, such as Gary Smith, Grethe Jensen and Brian Smith. Working under their patient guidance allowed me to immerse myself in this art form and to discover my inner potential. I am a proud member of the Go Figure https://www.facebook.com/groups/GoFigure.inthebeach/ life drawing group. Being surrounded by fellow artists provides me with great support and fresh inspiration for producing more art.'