Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/856465
C A R M E L M A G A Z I N E • S U M M E R / F A L L 2 0 1 7 239 she explains. "They are art in themselves." The portrait is a striking glimpse of the smiling U.S. Senator from Vermont, one of Burkman's heroes. Looking at her life—a struggling artist living with a pre-existing medical condition—it's easy to understand how she embraced his message of hope and change. When Sanders visited Monterey on the campaign trail, Burkman took the portrait and set up camp on the lawn of Colton Hall. Sanders' cam- paign manager spotted the painting and invited her behind the scenes to meet the candidate. "It was incredible," Burkman shares. "I love this man. He hugs me, thanks me and invites me to San Francisco for his last stop." The painting hung for a time in his VIP room, and Sanders' art director gave Burkman his card. Then Hillary Clinton won the nomination, and Sanders' campaign team dissolved. Today the painting hangs in Burkman's modest studio in Monterey. Inside the former garage is an array of her work, along with blank can- vases awaiting her magic. There's also a tent, set up for those nights when bartering fails. "I want to feel secure and comfortable, but money changes art," she says. "It influences you to do art that will sell. My focus is creating art that means something, and finding people that connect to it." "Andrew Bird." Burkman says: "Once I let go of…creating art for a 'price'…everything began to fall into place."