Blog: @silhouettist
A modern-day silhouettist tells his story. Charles Burns writes about his explorations into the art and history of silhouette. His mission is to bring this often-overlooked art to a wider, appreciative audience.
Can a silhouettist work from home?
01.04.2020 by Charles Burns
I've been asking myself whether I could work from home. As Coronavirus spreads its way around the world it seems everybody is doing it. Could a silhouettist work this way too? (more…)
Weird Symmetry
15.03.2020 by Charles Burns
As an artist interested in science I’ve always been fascinated by symmetry. As a silhouettist I rely completely on symmetry, my art would literally not exist without ti. I’d like to share some of that fascination by exploring a certain weird symmetry which infuses our lives. . (more…)
Cutting the Bridal Silhouette
28.02.2020 by Charles Burns
Cutting the bridal silhouette, live on her wedding day, is always a heart-stopping moment. There's the bride, surrounded by her closest family and friends on her big day. What could possibly go wrong? (more…)
Portraits and Caricatures by Inger Eidem
15.02.2020 by Charles Burns
Virtual Studio Day: 30th June 2021 • I heard about Inger Eidem long before I knew her name. Whilst cutting silhouettes at events I'd occasionally meet people who'd tell me about silhouettes they had done in their childhood. Apparently the artist cut through two pieces of paper at the same time, one of which became a portrait and the other a caricature. Wait, what?! Is that even possible?
Capturing Likeness in Caricature
28.01.2020 by Charles Burns
Is it possible to make a caricature likeness in silhouette? This question vexed me for many years. (more…)
Prosopographus: the silhouette automaton
11.12.2019 by Charles Burns
Virtual Studio Day: 18th July 2021 • As an artist interested in science I'm aways fascinated by weird pseudo-scientific ideas of the past, especially if they involve silhouettes. Once which caught my eye recently is the Prosopographus. (more…)
Fifty Shades and a Square Meal
03.09.2019 by Charles Burns
For the last few weeks I’ve been toying with an idea for a new book. I'm thinking about a picture book, a “guess the silhouette” collection of cuttings. It's the kind of book I hope somebody would love to receive in a Christmas stocking. (more…)
Opening my Creative Space
08.05.2019 by Charles Burns
May is here, so I’m opening Mays Barn (my own creative space) to exhibit a new series of silhouette paintings and prints. Do you think I should invite Theresa May? (more…)
En Grisaille Portrait Silhouettes
17.03.2019 by Charles Burns
I began playing with an en grisaille portrait many years ago. At the time, I was experimenting with traditional techniques for adding gold details (known as embellishing) and began scribbling pencil notes on my white copies. I began to find these white copies more interesting than the finished silhouettes! (more…)
Should an Artist Recycle their Art?
15.02.2019 by Charles Burns
Yesterday I spent the whole day recycling art…...or at least preparing to. There’s an awful lot of it! So I’m writing to ask for help. Can you give a painting a new home? Could you take delivery of a drawing or two?
Trench Life in Silhouette
21.10.2018 by Charles Burns
After watching Silhouette Secrets, recently launched on Amazon, people often ask: what sparked my interest in silhouettes? It isn't such an easy question to answer. However, my mind often returns to this silhouette, which has been in my family for years. It may well be the first silhouette I ever saw. (more…)
Our Paul Daniels cameo
09.10.2018 by Charles Burns
Virtual Studio Day: 10th July 2021 • Our film Silhouette Secrets includes a cameo appearance by Paul Daniels. This interview - our Paul Daniels cameo - was a late addition. We were looking for a magician to talk about Dai Vernon, the celebrated father of close-up magic, who earned a living as a street silhouettist during the Great American Depression. (more…)
A silhouettist’s approach to data protection
09.08.2018 by Charles Burns
What should a silhouettist's approach to data protection be? This question has been much on my mind recently. I'm not alone; the launch of GDPR in Europe – and the subsequent wave of reply-or-unsubscribe emails – has got everybody thinking. What kind of data do I use? For me, the question has caused me to reexamine some of my most fundamental ideas about the role of silhouettes in society. (more…)
Sarah Harrington’s hollow-cuts
07.06.2018 by Charles Burns
Virtual Studio Day: 28th July 2021 • I recently came across the work of a talented silhouettist called Sarah Harrington. She was a professional silhouettist who worked during the latter part of the eighteenth century. What struck me about about her work (apart from her obvious love of hats) is that they're all cut inside-out! (more…)