Photo courtesy of Anita Burgermeister
From photography to web design, murals to faux finishes, to playing and teaching piano, Milwaukee artist Anita Burgermeister work runs the gamut of artistic talent.
You have been painting murals and faux finishes for years. Explain how you got started in these areas. You also play and teach piano. Please elaborate on that as well.
My mother painted and played piano—so I grew up immersed in art. She worked for a commercial photo studio and Easy Painter was a client. They needed many samples for a photo shoot of their faux finishing kits, so I helped. We loved making them and thought it would be a fun job. The model hired us to paint her house. We hit the ground running and painted their entire house. Mom retired, but I never stopped. Other than observing mom, I am self-taught in art. I took private piano lessons throughout my school years. I currently have a dozen students, all online, ages 7-86! I mostly play for weddings and holiday parties.
Fusion Foto Art is another avenue for you. How do you create these pieces?
Initially, I only used photography as a resource for paintings. Later I experimented with “painted photos”—printing images on heavy card stock. I did a series of local musicians preserving the hands and faces of the original photo and adding paint and pastels to embellish the rest. I loved the effect and started doing iconic Milwaukee buildings in that style. This evolved into creating digitally blended or ‘fused’ images using my original photographs and abstract paintings.
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You have created websites for artists and musicians. Who are some of them, and how did you first learn to do web design?
I hired someone to create a website when I started Art by Anita 20 years ago. I needed frequent updates, so I found a do-it-yourself program and taught myself. It was not easy because I had no idea what I was doing. I came to enjoy the process because it uses the creative elements of design and color and fitting them all together is sort of like solving a puzzle. Some of my clients are bluesman Steve Cohen, Steve Grimm & Xeno of Bad Boy, artist Johnna Papin, other art groups and small businesses, and Tom Burgermeister Magic—my husband.
Your monthly blog tells about your activities, both creative and personal. Does this also help with gaining new clients?
I started my monthly blog in 2010 and have never missed an installment. At first it was intended to promote my business, but it has become a monthly journal and chronicle of more than just my pursuits. The tagline is, “Sharing news about creative people & events in art, music, magic, dance, dining, film, writing, architecture, inventions, life & other stuff.” I am blessed to have many interests and many talented and creative friends to write about. I do find that sharing updates on new projects brings repeat work and referrals.
If you could offer advice to an aspiring artist, what would that be?
I was a fine dining server for over 20 years. I had no idea that all my creative pursuits would mash up to become such a satisfying and rewarding career. They all fell into place organically. My advice is: Learn to adapt in life. Attitude is everything. Never stop learning. Be kind.
To find more on Anita’s work, go to www.artbyanita.com.
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