VL Studio Visit with JW Burke

Hello and thank you for taking interest in my artwork. I am a self-taught artist who grew up believing art was beyond my capability. When I was 11, my mother bought me a sketchpad and charcoal pencils saying, “Here, I think you are going to be an artist.”

At age 18, I hadn’t discovered my artistic ability. It was 1988; I lived in Carmel, California, working maintenance for a wealthy businessman. I spent my days off roaming the streets partly chasing girls and partly admiring the many incredible galleries. My future would soon be decided for me by a group of peers. As a cruel prank, they poisoned me with a massive LSD overdose. This caused me to suffer severe constant delusions, audio and visual hallucinations, and harbor paranoid delusional thoughts. These mimicked the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia. I was unable to maintain my sanity. I lived either homeless, getting in trouble with the law, or in mental health hospitals attempting to regain my sanity. I lived filthy and homeless, begging for change and sleeping in a box. In September of 1997, my delusions drove me to commit two acts of robbery, both without bloodshed. My delusions over the years had convinced me that I was somehow being controlled by, or tortured by, manmade voices. For some unknown reason, sounds emanating from public television or radio subliminally tormented me.

I remember clearly how, upon my arrest, as soon as I was handcuffed and placed in the police car, my delusions stopped – dead quiet. No voices, no hallucinations, no disorientation, just the sound of the car and the static of the police radio. Having spent the past decade tortured in such a way, then to have it immediately stop, did not immediately make me well and whole again. I had to get over a decade’s worth of confusion, emotional, and physiological torture. The task of rebuilding my sanity lay before me while I awoke to the fact that I faced spending the remainder of my life in prison.

I began drawing in my cell to help stabilize, exercise, and restructure my mind against relapse.  Soon I asked myself, “What can you do to save yourself?” “What are your options?” Well, in prison, you have very few ways to succeed, especially in Texas. There are college courses and classes to get your GED. But I needed to think of the long prison term I faced and calculate that into my decision. To become an artist or a writer would allow me two ways to strengthen my mind: 1) teach myself a career that could lead to financial independence, and 2) obtain possible assistance in regaining my freedom. I have always believed in myself. I’ve always wanted to live my life as a good father and husband and hopefully someday, when I pass away, I could do so knowing that I was loved and had loved, as well as done my best to achieve things to be proud of.

In prison they have what is called “The Craft Shop” which is where inmates go to do leather work, artwork or other crafts to possibility earn an income for their families or themselves when they get

out. You must get on a very long waiting list. Out of 4,500 men in my prison only 50 to 80 inmates get in. I’ve waited twelve years, and every time my number comes up, an officer writes a bogus disciplinary case, which bars me from entry. Sometimes the guards and prison officials are just as criminal as the inmates. That’s just how it is and no one seems to be willing or able to change it. For the innocent or repentant man, prison life is hell. For everyone else, it is their chosen environment. In my drawing lessons over the years, I slowly found that any moment I wasn’t drawing was time wasted. My work improved and I found that once I understood how to achieve accuracy in drawing I could create anything, which meant all sorts of excitement and pride of achievement. I work at drawing 10 to 14 hours a day, 7 days per week.

While I create artwork of a variety of subject matter, I especially enjoy creating extremely detailed Westerns depicting ranch scenes, rodeo, or Old West themes. I also enjoy creating wildlife and other works.

I usually work in graphite or colored pencil. The black and white of graphite has the ability to transcend time as well as create realistic textures that work together with detail to make you almost smell the leather, feel the heat of the day, or hear the pounding of hooves. With Western art, more than any other subject, I am able to capture the interest of the viewer, not only because of the great detail, but because it evokes emotions in the form of pride – deep pride earned from hard work, calluses, and lives well lived. This is the greatest payoff for an artist. If you can make someone proud of themselves by what you have created, then you have created something
more than art, something you can be proud of. You have touched people personally.

My portfolio contains many other subjects and media but, at this point, the Western subject matter and graphite medium are my favorites.  My hopes are to create works of art of a quality worthy of being collected by an appreciative audience and to earn my living through my art. Regardless of what

happens, I will continue to grow as an artist and creating art will remain part of my life’s passion. Very recently, a long lost son has been located and besides saving for my freedom someday, I hope to help put him through college and begin saving for my future grandchildren. Anyone wishing to support me in my artistic endeavors should feel free to write a letter of support to the Texas Parole Board.

Thank you again for your interest in and support of my work.