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painted journey press release 2005
Painting a Personal Journey
Press Release – For Immediate Release
Singapore, January 2005
Artist and author Gregory Burns is delighted to announce the
publication of his new book, Painted Journey. Featuring artwork,
photography and travel writing from 10 countries, Painted
Journey is a testament to over two decades of traveling,
painting and collecting a journal of all the experiences along
the way.
As a three-time Paralympic athlete, Gregory has won gold medals
and set world records in swimming pools from Barcelona to
Sydney. As a painter, he has carried canvas and brushes across
five continents. Whether searching for new vistas to paint,
traveling on business during a stint in the corporate world or
flying to meet one of his many motivational speaking or charity
commitments, Gregory spends a lot of time on the road.
Contracting polio at the age of one, Gregory has walked with leg
braces and crutches all his life, making his way through the
world by, to use his own words, “…navigating by dim light.” He
writes in his artist’s statement: “I always hoped that huge
floodlights would illuminate the potted landscape of my life's
path. Instead, I have discovered that the journey has unfolded
without distinct signposts.”
Painted Journey takes the reader on the road with Gregory and
brings to life the adventures encountered and challenges faced
in locations as far flung as Laos, China, Hawaii, Myanmar,
Greece and India. Gregory has lived in Asia for 20 years and now
divides his time between Singapore and California. He has held
exhibitions in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, India,
Indonesia, Hawaii, California and London and holds a Master of
Fine Art from R.M.I.T. in Australia.
With 200 color pages featuring paintings and journeys around the
globe, and appealing equally to art lovers, travel fans and
people looking for inspiration, Painted Journey is now available
from select bookstores and by emailing
greg@gregoryburns.com.
Media Contacts:
For review copies or more information about the author, please
contact:
Ben Munroe: 9138 0656, munroe@starhub.net.sg
About the Author
Childhood and Education
Born in 1957 in Washington D.C., Gregory was educated in Europe,
Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and USA. Gregory contracted polio
as an infant, and owes a debt of gratitude to his family for
refusing to treat him as a 'disabled' person and giving him
access to a childhood that was as 'normal' as possible. Instead
of American football, he experienced a life of painting,
traveling, trekking and swimming. His love affair with Asia
started in 1984 with a California State University course in
Chinese brush painting and calligraphy taught in Taiwan.
Following that program he spent 16 months backpacking, painting
and exploring Asia.
Sport
His career in corporate marketing began when he sought a sponsor
for his first Paralympic bid. While working two jobs in Hong
Kong, he trained for the Barcelona Paralympics during his lunch
hour. He remembers swimming down the lane thinking, "If I close
my eyes I can take a little nap between now and when I hit the
wall." So he swam during his lunch hour and lifted weights
before work in the mornings. In the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics,
he set a world record for the 100-meter breaststroke and won
Silver and Bronze medals.
Kentucky Fried Chicken sponsored his trip to Barcelona and later
offered him a job. This started a five-year stint doing
corporate communications and public relations for PepsiCo
Restaurants International. The company again sponsored him to
compete in the Atlanta and Sydney Paralympics.
And the Rest
Gregory develops and delivers motivational and awareness
building programs for a wide range of Fortune 500 companies,
schools and charities throughout Asia and the U.S.A. He
researches and formulates messages based on personal experience,
often citing status as a Paralympic world record-holding
swimmer, athlete and artist, while addressing specific
corporate, educational or charity needs.
And that about sums up the life of Gregory Burns so far. Of
course, along the way there were other adventures: scuba diving,
sailing from Tahiti to Hong Kong while producing TV
documentaries, trekking the Himalayas and writing for magazines
on art and travel all found a place in his life.
He has been a fulltime painter and writer since 1998.
Notes on a Painted Journey
Background to the Book
As an athlete, painter, traveler, writer and speaker, walking
using leg braces and crutches, Gregory has experienced life from
a vantage point that offers the rest of us some inspiration.
Beautiful enough to be a coffee table book, meaningful enough to
be read over and over, Painted Journey is an illustrated book
showcasing the art of Gregory Burns and encompassing the
messages he puts across during his public speaking events.
Painted Journey is a book about an aspect of Gregory’s life that
he has been writing since he kept a notebook on a trip to New
Zealand over 30 years ago. The art spans three decades, and
demonstrates his development from realism to abstraction, his
experiences include his Paralympic medals, the adventures in the
many countries he has visited and his thoughts as a motivational
speaker. Most of all, Painted Journey is about his paintings and
the view upon the world that they afford us all.
Paintings, sketches and travel photography illustrate and define
the 10 chapters: California, Singapore, Nepal, China, Myanmar,
Cambodia, Laos, India, Europe and Hawaii in addition to a
foreword, preface and artist’s statement. The commentary guides
the reader through a personal perspective of the journey
according to Gregory Burns.
There are 380 travel photographs and 320 original artworks
across the 200 full color pages of the hard cover book.
Painted Journey is sponsored by Credit Suisse in support of VSA
Singapore.
Appealing equally to art lovers, travel fans and anyone looking
for inspiration, Painted Journey is now available from select
bookstores and by emailing
greg@gregoryburns.com.
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