"El arte nos despierta del sueño que llamamos realidad"/​"Art wakes us from the dream we call reality" Beatris Burgoin

“My main influence is ‘light’ and the subtle contrast to dark, and how I manifest that with the use of palette knives, brushes and my hands, giving and impasto effect with the buttery texture inherent in oil paints. Oils dry slowly. This allows me to pause the process and began again with, perhaps, a fresh perspective.” - Beatris Burgoin

Beatris Burgoin builds her visual world from the three primary colors and white, layering red, yellow, and blue into luminous harmonies that capture shadows, reflections, and the essence of place. Through her paintings, Beatris invites viewers to see landscapes, memories, and identities refracted through her distinctive prism of color—transforming familiar places and faces into stories of resilience, belonging, and beauty.
Born into an art-loving family, she resisted painting until a near-death experience at 18 ignited her creative path. Her early works earned the admiration of her toughest critic, her father, who recognized that his artistic legacy would continue through her. While raising her son in Crestone, Colorado, Beatris developed her practice into a professional career, teaching, collaborating with arts organizations, and completing local commissions—including a community mural. Her paintings soon reached audiences far beyond Colorado, with exhibitions in Texas, Chicago, Barcelona, and Mexico City’s Los Pinos presidential palace, as well as recognition in British Vogue.
A decade later, she returned to her hometown of San Juanico, Baja California Sur, where she founded a gallery that became a cultural hub for the small fishing and surfing village. Local faces and coastal sunsets from this chapter remain woven into her work. In 2022, Beatris relocated to Santa Barbara, where she continues to expand her vision. She has since won the People’s Choice Award at the Scape Artists Exhibition and shown in Arte del Pueblo at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara.

FAQ's

​1 Where were you born?
I was born in a small town on the peninsula of Baja California Sur, Mexico, next to the Pacific Ocean, Puerto San Carlos. My father was a fisherman and at that time we lived on Magdalena Island, just in front of the port. There was no doctor on the Island and my mother was transferred by boat to the nearest doctor.

2 How is art born in you?
My father was both a fisherman and an artist. He worked on many art projects during his life, sculpture, paintings, murals, etc. He instilled us (To me and siblings) love and appreciation for art. We (the 4 children) could draw very well from a young age. When we got bigger, in different stages, we paint. I was the one who started later, at 19.

3 How did you start painting?
Drawing and doing sculpture was just a hobby for me until I was 18 years old and I was in a car accident where my right hand was hurt. After several operations I lost the ring finger of that hand. Because of the way the pencil is held in comparison to the brush or spatula it is painful for me to write or draw for a long time, but to paint, I can do it all day. The accident was a definite moment for me. After seeing the fragility of life I wanted to start living and enjoying every moment. I started painting after my younger brother gave me his brushes and paints. From that moment I could not stop.

4 Why painting and not another artistic expression?
I have tried different art forms, but nothing comes close to the connection I feel when painting. At first I remember that it was sometimes stressful until it became part of my meditation and now it relaxes me when I paint. Many times I feel the need to paint to de-stress. I have joined I think, like many artists, to paint and meditate.

5 Where is your inspiration born?
Over the years it has inspired me different things. The Light has been the most outstanding and most constant. Life, the Light of life. I like to paint portraits and capture the essence of the person. I feel like a challenge. And when I paint landscapes I feel that I need to capture the weather, the essence of that day that will never come back.

6 What do you want to express with your art?
I think that art goes beyond wanting to express something. For me it is a way of expressing myself. I hope and that somehow my work will help more people to immerse themselves in the life of art and help them have a more complete and joyful life.

I think when we make art we transform. When we challenge our limits, you are able to expand artistically and at the same time feel the connection with our surroundings. At that moment the mind stops. You are in the pure presence of the present, where everything is beyond criticism. When the viewer sees the work, he / she is witnessing the artist's journey. When we really look with all our senses, we can connect to the expansion and take a look at our own limitations.

7 What has been the work that has marked you the most?
There have been several works that have marked me at different stages of my development as an artist. Suddenly a painting comes out of me that I don't know how I painted it, as if it were connected to something that cannot be described. These works change me and refine my technique. The last one was "Papalote", you can see it on my website www.beatrisburgoin.com

8 Your favorite phrase?
"He who blames others has a long way to go on his journey. He who blames himself is halfway there. He who does not blame anyone has arrived." Chinese proverb.

9 If your works could speak ... What would they say about the artist?
I have always thought that without trying when a painting is authentic, it is a photograph of the essence of the artist, of the mental and spiritual state. When there is truth in that photograph it is what makes a good artwork for both the artist and the viewer. As a diary.

10 What styles and artistic movements are reflected in your painting?
I have been classified as a contemporary impressionist artist but I have always sought to develop my own technique. I really like to practice Plein Air and I move between portraits, landscapes as I feel that day.

11 How do you see your life ... before and after art?
Before I started painting and immersing myself in art, I remember that I used to feel a huge lack of connection, with everything around and inside me. I should include that at the same time as I started painting I started studying meditation. Now, painting helps me express myself and I hope to make my truth known. Because I think we all need to bring something to this world but first we have to find our authenticity.

1 En donde naciste?
Nací en un pueblo chico en la peninsula de Baja California Sur, Mexico, al lado del océano Pacifico, Puerto San Carlos. Mi padre era pescador y en ese tiempo vivíamos en la Isla Magdalena, justo enfrente del puerto. En la Isla no había doctor y mi madre fue trasladada en panga al doctor mas cercano.

2 Como nace en ti el arte?
Mi padre tanto era pescador como artista. Trabajo en muchos proyectos de arte durante su vida, escultura, pinturas, murales, etc. El nos inculco (Ami y hermanos) el amor y apreciación al arte. Los 4 hijos podíamos dibujar muy bien desde muy jóvenes. Ya mas grandes en diferentes etapas los 4 pintamos. Yo fui la que empezó mas tarde, a los 19 años. 

3 Como empezaste a pintar?
Dibujar y hacer escultura era solo un pasatiempo para mi hasta que a los 18 años estuve en un accidente automovilístico donde me lastime la mano derecha. Después de varias operaciones perdí el dedo anular de dicha mano. Por la manera que se agarra el lápiz a comparación del pincel o espátula es doloroso para mi escribir o dibujar por mucho tiempo, pero pintar, puedo hacerlo todo el día. El accidente fue un momento definitivo para mi. Después de ver la fragilidad de la vida quería empezar a vivir y disfrutar cada momento. Empece a pintar después que mi hermano menor me regalara sus pinceles y pinturas. Desde ese momento no pude parar. 

4 Porque pintura y no otra expresión artística?
He tratado diferentes formas de arte, pero nada se le acerca a la conexión que siento al estar pintando. Al principio recuerdo que aveces era estresante hasta que se volvió parte de mi meditación y ahora me relaja cuando pinto. Muchas veces siento la necesidad de pintar para desestresarme. He unido pienso como muchos artista pintar y meditar.

5 Donde nace tu inspiración? 
Durante el transcurso de los años me ha inspirado diferentes cosas. La Luz ha sido la mas sobresaliente y mas constante. La vida, La Luz de la vida. Me gusta pintar retratos y capturar la esencia de la persona. Lo siento como un reto. Y cuando pinto paisajes siento que necesito capturar el clima, la esencia de ese día que jamas volverá. 

6 Que quieres expresar con tu arte?
Pienso que el arte va mas allá de querer expresar algo. Para mi es una forma de expresarme, que hay en mi interior. Espero y que de alguna manera mi trabajo ayude a mas personas a sumergirse en la vida del arte y les ayude a tener una vida mas completa y llena de alegría.
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Creo que cuando hacemos arte nos transformamos. Cuando desafiamos nuestros limites, eres capaz de expandirte artísticamente y, al mismo tiempo sentir la conexión con nuestro alrededor. En ese momento la mente para. Te encuentras en la pura presencia del presente, donde todo esta mas allá del criticismo. Cuando el espectador ve el trabajo, el/ella esta siendo testigo del viaje del artista. Cuando realmente observamos con todos nuestros sentidos, nos podemos conectar a la expansion y darle un vistazo a nuestras propias ilimitaciones.

7 Cual ha sido la obra que mas te ha marcado?
Ha habido varias obras que me han marcado en diferentes etapas de mi desarrollo como artista. De repente sale de mi una pintura que no se como la pinte, como si estuviera conectada con algo que no se puede describir. Esas obras me cambian y van refinando mi técnica. La ultima fue "Papalote", la pueden ver en mi sitio en internet www.beatrisburgoin.com 

8 Tu frase favorita?
"El que culpa a los demás tiene un largo camino que recorrer en su viaje. El que se culpa si mismo esta a mitad de camino. El que no culpa a nadie ha llegado." Proverbio chino.

9 Si tus obras pudieran hablar... Que dirían sobre el artista?
Siempre he pensado que sin tratar cuando una pintura es autentica es una fotografía de la esencia del artista, del estado mental y espiritual. Cuando hay verdad en esa fotografía es lo que hace una buena obra tanto para el artista y el espectador. Como un diario se pudiera decir.

10 Que estilos y movimientos artísticos se ven reflejados en tu pintura?
He sido clasificada como una artista contemporánea impresionista pero siempre he buscado desarrollar mi propia técnica. Me gusta mucho practicar Plein Air y me muevo entre retratos, paisajes a como me sienta ese día.

11 Como ves tu vida...antes y después del arte?
Antes de empezar a pintar y sumergirme en el arte, recuerdo que solía sentir una enorme falta de conexión, con todo alrededor e interior. Debería incluir que al mismo tiempo de empezar a pintar empece a estudiar meditación. Ahora la pintura me ayuda a expresarme y ojalá dar a conocer mi verdad. Por que pienso que todos necesitamos traer algo a este mundo pero primero tenemos que encontrar nuestra autenticidad.