Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta 2004: A ProCreations® Poster

2004
by Downe Burns

Twenty-sixth in the series by Downe Burns. Downe Burns' lush image captures the romance of a lone cowboy transfixed by the colorful spectacle of an armada of balloons floating over nature's perfection. The solidity of nature plays off the transience of man's passage. Following up on his 1996 and 1998 Fiesta posters with characteristic boldness and a uniquely colorful style, Burns continues to define Southwest modernist painting. His iconic cowboy and the intensity of his impressionist landscapes have powered his work to world-wide recognition. For the first time ever, we published two versions of a Balloon Fiesta image in a single year: One version of the poster depicted a landscape dotted with Saguaro (pronounced, "Sah-wah'-ro") cacti, one of Burns's signature elements.

That very small edition quickly sold out even as the Albuquerque Journal decried their appropriateness in a New Mexican landscape. The other version excluded the cacti. In both, we formatted the 2004 image to bringing out the beauty of the image whether displayed on its own or paired with Burns's 1996 poster, the most collected in the history of the Balloon Fiesta until this one.

Published in two editions:

A limited-edition serigraph in an artist-signed edition of 1,250 numbered prints;
and an unsigned edition of 2,500 numbered prints, both without Saguaros and;
An artist-signed edition of 150 numbered prints;
and an unsigned edition of 350 numbered prints, both with Saguaros. All measure 30" x 24".

® AIBF. Image ©2004 ProCreations Publishing Company / Text © 2004-2005  ProCreations Publishing Company