Charles Burt: Walking in My Shoes exhibit at Lakewold Gardens

Charles Burt: Walking in My Shoes
July 7 – August 20, 2023

Lakewood, WA— Lakewold Gardens is pleased to present a new exhibition by artist and coordinator of Lakewold’s Veterans Art Program, Charles Burt. Opening Friday, July 7, the show includes more than two dozen works that will be on display in the Wagner House through August 20, 2023.

In Walking in My Shoes, Burt explores the variety of ways he engages with art to express himself. After 20 years of active-duty service, he retired from the Army but struggled to adjust to civilian life. He began seeking ways to connect with other disciplined and dedicated people, eventually meeting a community of artists who shared his work ethic. From this spark of connection, Burt began taking community college art courses and eventually completed five years of intensive fine art atelier training at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle.

The wide range of materials and mediums in this collection represent the depth and breadth of his interests as an artist. Although he is classically trained as a fine artist with a concentration in oil paintings, Burt has recently expanded his areas of interest to creating found art sculptures, watercolor landscapes, and acrylic pour over paintings, among other styles.

About a year after his retirement, Burt developed a tremor in his dominant hand that was later diagnosed as Parkinson’s Disease. Painting fine art pieces while battling a tremor is another challenge that he faces head-on, adapting his artistic expression to each medium depending on the widely variable severity of his dominant-hand tremors and fatigue.

Burt also incorporates his personal experiences into his works, both as a veteran and as someone who is determined to deconstruct his faith. He continues to challenge himself to evolve as an artist and hopes to expand his understanding of art while inspiring others to create, especially other veterans who have left the supportive structures of the military.