Artist Statement
I am meticulous in my creation of my art. As a recovering perfectionist with a penchant for the dramatic, my art tends to be darker and highly detailed. Most of all though, my art has meaning.
I want it to say something. I want it to say something and not just be a pretty thing to hang on your wall or to sit on your shelf. Sometimes it tells a story. Sometimes it represents an emotion. Sometimes it is introspective. Yet it always has meaning.
I want my art to whisper oddity and draw attention, not become the ignored wallpaper of your life. My art demands to be seen and contemplated.
Bio
Derrick Burton is the artist and business owner behind Toponaut Designs™. Toponaut Designs™ was founded as an outlet for Derrick’s personal creative endeavors. The word Toponaut is a combination of the prefix Topo-, meaning place or location, and the suffix -naut, indicating someone who navigates a vehicle specifically in scientific exploration. When Derrick was young he wanted to be a scientist, and his love for experimentation and process is evident in his business.
Derrick became enamored with art at a very young age, taking art classes in his hometown of Boise, Idaho when he was just 5 years old at a little art business called Young at Art where he explored many mediums. In high school, Derrick took the AP art course and explored an alternative graphic design course before pursuing his BFA with a concentration in graphic design and a minor in business at Colorado State University. Graduating in the year of 2012, Derrick has worked in the marking industry ever since, but still finds time to work in the traditional mediums he loves which include acrylic paints, graphite, colored pencils, and inks.
