1) Mindy Winburn is an 18-year-old artist from Culpeper, Virginia who is studying at Virginia Commonwealth University. Her artwork spans multiple mediums and genres and defies categorization. 2) Winburn creates portraits, landscapes, and sculptures out of various materials like pen, pastel, steel, and solder. Her inspirations come from her travels and favorite musicians. 3) While still experimenting with different styles and mediums, Winburn hopes to pursue a career where she can visually communicate, such as illustration, advertising, or graphic design. She has won awards for her art and is hosting a reception for her work.

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Page 8 | Friday, June 17, 2005 Culpeper Star-Exponent | Page 9IN & AROUND
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Emotionally driven artist
STAFF PHOTOS VINCENT VALA
ABOVE: Mindy Winburn creates
many portraits of people.
LEFT: Winburn stands next to one of her pieces on
display at Another Dimension on East Davis Street.
STAFF PHOTOS VINCENT VALA
ABOVE: This steel sculpture is half skull face, half helmet
with squares of sheet metal stacked in rows over the head.
At back, a metal spine descends from the nape of the neck.
BOTTOM: A sculpture entitled “Blindside” depicts a hunched
over rock star in wire, clutching a microphone in one hand.
The singer is actually a Christian rock star by the name of
Christian Lindskog — led vocalist for the band Blindside.
Mindy Winburn does not fit into any one category
By Allison Brophy Champion
STAFF WRITER
Mindy Winburn, like her art, is hard to pin
down.
The 18-year-old rising sophomore at
Virginia Commonwealth University in
Richmond is serious to the point of shyness.
At the same time, there is a sense of hushed,
but uncontained passion for her art.
Winburn’s art does not fit into any one cat-
egory.
“Basically, it’s whatever my mood is,” she
said. “I don’t have a certain style.”
One stunning pen-and-ink drawing por-
trays a Chinese girl carrying a baby on her
back. Behind them, golden fields seem to
meet up with the sun. Winburn’s inspiration
for this piece — entitled “Labor of Love” —
was a photograph snapped by her grandfa-
ther in Hong Kong.
Several of her works feature faces from
the East, including one of her great grandfa-
ther, a Korean medicine man. Another color-
ful piece in pastel depicts a European street
scene at dusk, lamp lights only recently lit
behind a still blue sky. Faceless figures wan-
der the “Rue des Bouchers” in Winburn’s
depiction of a corner in Belgium, a place she
visited in person.
Then there are her sculptures. Winburn —
a 2004 graduate of Culpeper County High
School — recently discovered steel and solder
as art.
“My new discovery,” she said with a slight
grin. “I wanted to prove that I could do 3-D,”
added Winburn, who said her boyfriend
taught her how to weld.
A sculpture entitled “Blindside” depicts a
hunched over rock star in wire, clutching a
microphone in one hand. The singer is actu-
ally a Christian rock star by the name of
Christian Lindskog — led vocalist for the
band Blindside.
“Hardcore metal,” said Winburn of the
music style. “He’s my favorite singer.”
Another of her steel sculptures is half
skull face, half helmet with squares of sheet
metal stacked in rows over the head. At back,
a metal spine descends from the nape of the
neck.
“That’s my favorite part,” she said of the
spine effect. “Welding is a lot of fun.”
Many of the pieces in Mindy’s extensive
portfolio are portraits, faces captured with
smiles or frowns. Some are intense like the
“Mysterious” girl in scratchboard; others are
playful like “Sisters” in charcoal and chalk.
Winburn’s self-portrait in color pencil is
dark in browns and black, and her expression
is not amused.
“At the time, I was kind of frustrated,” said
Winburn of the self-portrait she created as a
freshman at VCU. “I wasn’t satisfied with it
and had to restart a couple times.”
As with any artist, there are often first,
second and third drafts and so on until the
creation is just right. Mindy has been honing
her artistic ability since childhood.
“Ever since I was old enough to pick up a
pencil, I was drawing,” she said. Winburn has
won several awards for her artwork, includ-
ing first place in the 2003 Virginia School
Board Association Art Contest and Best in
Show in the 2004 Seventh District
Congressional Art Contest, sponsored by
Congressman Eric Cantor.
She is studying communication arts at
VCU, which is one of the top art schools in
the nation, her father, Mark, pointed out.
After college, Winburn said she hopes to pur-
sue a career in which she can visually com-
municate — illustrator, advertising, graphic
design, etc.
Her passion is re-creation.
“Being able to show things in my perspec-
tive,” she said.
Winburn named Rembrandt — the 17th
Century Dutch painter from Amsterdam —
among her influences, noting that she loves
his contrasting colors.
“The dark work,” she said. “I love the
dark.”
At the same time, Winburn prefers pastels
to any other artistic medium.
“You can manipulate them a lot,” she said,
“and the vibrant colors can represent a lot of
things.”
Dark, light. Pen, pastels. Steel and por-
traits.
Somewhat enigmatic like any good artist,
Winburn experiments with it all. She’s not
fitting into anyone’s box.
ALLISON BROPHY CHAMPION
825-0771 ext. 102.
abrophy@starexponent.com
Mindy Winburn
Mindy Winburn, Culpeper
County High School class of
2004, is featured artist of the
month at Another Dimension,
located at 172 E. Davis St.
She will host an artist’s
reception this Saturday after-
noon from 1 to 5 p.m. in the
downtown gift shop/gallery.
Winburn, 18, is studying
communication arts at VCU
and is a talented portrait
artist available for commis-
sion work. For more informa-
tion, check out mindywin-
burn.com or via e-mail at
mindy@mindywinburn.com
“Ever since I was old enough to
pick up a pencil, I was drawing.”
MINDY WINBURN | ARTIST