Meet Steven Burton, Author

Steven Burton describes himself as a part-time author, chef, old soldier, little league football Coach, and best buddy of Jack Kitty. He writes about everyday people and real-life experiences. Later this year, he'll be releasing a book called Midlife Man in Crisis. You can read excerpts from that book and many other selections of his work on http://beneaththerainbow.com. And find him on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/beneaththerainbow/.

1. What inspires you to sit down and write about something?

My inspirations come from the world around me. I was in the U.S. Army for 20 years, and along the way I have lived all over the world, experienced many different cultures, and talked to people from all walks of life. Watching how other people interact with each other and listening to their stories has become a kind of hobby of mine.

Pop culture bombards us with tales of the rich and famous, but I think most people have great stories to tell regardless of their social or economic standing which is why I started the Beneath The Rainbow short story site. When you drill down in to the events of most people's lives, you will find heroes, villains, and protagonists worthy of a Shakespearean drama.

2. Would you tell us a little bit more about your forthcoming book?

Midlife Man in Crisis chronicles some of the defining events men (and some women) go through when they hit that period of life the dictionary defines as middle age. I try to approach the subject with a touch of humor although there are moments when some of the events can be described as drama, or so my beta readers tell me.

Tackling issues involved with the loss of youth, no longer being a parent of young children, and even the oft maligned "midlife crisis girl" event wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, although it has been fun. The events described in the book have either happened to me or someone I was close to, with maybe a slight bit of exaggeration in the telling. After all I am in old soldier, and we are supposed to add a little hyperbole to our stories.

3. Why do you think that our culture talks so much about the idea of the midlife crisis, and what does "midlife crisis" mean to you?

There are roughly 82 million people in the United States between the ages of 45 and 65 (27% of the population), so put into perspective that is more people in that demographic in the United states then there are people living in Germany, France, or any western European country. You could multiply the population of Canada two times and still not have as many people as the United States has in middle age category. A big reason we talk about it so much is there is a lot of us.

In my own experience, midlife crisis is what happened when I slowed down enough to realize how much the world had changed around me. Empty nest had hit, the kids had all moved out, my wife was now an ex wife, and even worse when cute college girls talked to me, they used the tone and demeanor reserved for friends of their parents and grandparents, not the flirty banter that always been our form of communication before. When you're a middle-aged man at a restaurant, and the 20-something girl who is your waitress says, "Thank you, sir".......she really means SIR.

4. You post original work on your website on quite a regular basis. What are some of the best responses you've received from readers?

I have received some great comments and words of encouragement since I put up Beneath The Rainbow, but my absolute favorite was when a guy I hadn't seen since boot camp posted, "I always wondered what happened to my buddy" under a short story I'd written about joining the Army. Prior to his comment, I hadn't seen or heard from him since 1981. We didn't have cell phones, computers, etc back then, and snail mail could take two to three weeks to travel one way overseas, so you couldn't really keep in touch with all the friends you made through out your military career. To hear from someone I hadn't talked to in 20+ years, that was a real treat.

5. What else would you like readers to know about you and your writing?

I have a kind of a sardonic sense of humor, and there are times people don't understand when I am laughing at myself, and I do laugh at myself a lot. My hope is that anyone reading my writing gets that aspect of my work.

Prior to this book, my writing has been confined to blog posts and ghost writing for others who have tailored my work to fit their own style. I am anxious, and I admit a bit scared to put out an entire book with my own name on it.

Thanks for spending time with me, Mandy.

Thanks, Steven!

Meet Robert Goldsberry, Artist

Robert Goldsberry is a Colorado-based visual artist. He has been painting and drawing for over 30 years in different mediums and styles. His current work involves painting in a realist style, doing still lifes with various objects and designs. Find samples of his work at robertgoldsberry.com.

Below is a painting called Always.

And here is another recent painting called Treaty.

1. What do you most enjoy about working in a realist style, and what are the challenges of working on realist paintings?

Throughout my career, I've typically done a little of everything. What I enjoy most is the challenge of it. The attempt to make it realistic is an ongoing pursuit and quite challenging. I enjoy watching the work evolve and change over time. What is important to me is the feeling it creates. If I'm working toward a realistic work, I want it to be the best I can make it look. Same goes for any other style. I work hard to achieve what I'm trying to do with these paintings.

2. What inspired you to focus on still lifes for the series of paintings you're currently working on?

My inspiration for working on still lifes comes from the simplicity I find in assembling the objects I wish to interpret. Stills are a time-honored tradition and one I've not worked at until ten years ago (my first still life was a drawing I did in college). Painters think in terms of weight, value, variations on color and composition. The process of doing the painting is always intriguing and captivating. Painting is magic in that sense. What is inspiring is the finished piece looking like the painting you imagined it would be. It does not always work out that way. Many good ideas are never fulfilled because of hesitation to push on.

3. How do you choose the arrangement of objects for a particular painting?

I'm not sure that I choose the objects to paint, but that they choose me instead. I make up every painting I do. I'm always looking for another piece of the puzzle, an object or thing that will enhance the work and make it a balanced effort. At times I will reference an object to make sure I'm doing it as close to what it is supposed to be, but most all time spent is envisioning the image I'm trying to produce and just doing it from memory. Arrangement is nothing more than, "What will I think of next, and what looks good with that?". I never really know what is next. I've just finished two paintings that I painted at the same time. Now I'm feeling lost as to what to do next. But that lost feeling does not last very long because when something strikes a chord, and I think to myself, that will look good on canvas, it usually does.

4. What are some other styles and media you've worked in as an artist, in addition to realist painting?

I've worked in many styles and media, from crayons to trowels and sticks, abstracts, surreal, real, to impressionism. I would like to try sculpting someday. I think the clay would be interesting and fun. But painting on canvas and with a brush has stuck with me for all these years. I've been known to produce vivid abstracts, which at times blend and morph into abstract/surrealism, or straight up surrealism, or to realism, and at one point, some super realism. Painting is an evolving process for me. At one point I painted strictly abstract imagery for 17 years. And then while working a horse ranch in Evergreen Co., I dropped the abstracts and started working on paintings of horses and equine portraiture. The best part was my influence and subject matter were all around me.

Again, painting is an evolving process. In the beginning stages, components of a painting come from the objects and their inherent beauty, and during the process, things can quickly change to more abstract and conceptual ideas. I love doing the abstracts as a way of releasing tension, energy, and emotion, all depicted by color and technique. Also, if I have a period of time in which I have not sat at the easel much, I find that working in an abstract style loosens me up to more vigorous detailed work. Kind of like getting paint on myself, it gets me involved and motivated and messy.

5. How do your surroundings living in Colorado influence your work?

I'm from Colorado and have lived all over including the deserts of southern Arizona. I've found no direct connection between my work and my surroundings. I don't paint in plein aire much because I'm usually a studio turtle and love to hibernate there. On location requires another painter to say let's go there and paint. What I do paint in plein aire usually ends up in the studio to be completed. My all-time favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh, and I paint nothing like him, yet find inspiration in his work, style of painting, and his life story. He never liked painting indoors and that's okay. One day maybe I'll get that urge to paint in the wind, rain, and blasting sun like he did, but not just yet.

Thanks, Robert!