Ortus captures the quiet emergence of light along a distant horizon, where sky and water dissolve into a unified field of color. Soft golds and warm amber tones stretch outward, layered with cool blues and muted violets that shift gently across the surface.
 
Burke’s brushwork moves fluidly between atmosphere and reflection, allowing light to travel through the composition rather than sit upon it. The horizon line remains low and understated, giving space to the sky as it opens and transforms.
 
Both luminous and contemplative, Ortus evokes a sense of beginning—an unfolding moment where light quietly takes hold. The title, meaning rising, reinforces this sense of transition, as Burke’s brushwork allows light to move through the composition rather than simply rest upon it.