Texas painter Marc Burckhardt, whose exhibit opens Wednesday at the Pennsylvania College of Art & Design, loves to talk about art.

He'll talk about art history (which happens to be one of his three undergraduate degrees, along with printmaking and illustration.)

He'll talk about his process, his experience, his passion.

He'll talk about artists he admires, and those by whom he has been influenced.

But when it comes time to talk about the meaning behind his highly allegorical paintings, Burckhardt goes silent.

To him, the work itself is an experience. It should interact with the viewer.

And who isn't intrigued by a little bit of mystery?

In a portrait of a beautiful young woman titled "Betrothed," her long braided hair wraps around her like a snake, completely covering her mouth.

There is just a hint of desperation in her eyes.

In "Still Life" a dead bird lies feet up on a plate with a penny and a piece of decaying fruit. A smoke tendril rises in the background from a candle that has just been snuffed.

The works are reminiscent of religious iconic art, but always with an element of subtle surprise.

"I think a picture that tells the whole story right up front is not really an interesting image to live with," Burckhardt explains.

"I want someone to live with it, interact with it, find new things."

The PCA&D exhibit, titled "Fables, Musicians and Natural Wonders," includes 27 pieces.

While many are the allegorical storytelling paintings he is drawn to create, others are more straightforward.

He has been commissioned to paint many musicians over the years, including a personal hero of his, Johnny Cash.

He was also commissioned to paint the portraits of inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That, he describes as a "pinch me" moment, along with being named the Texas state painter in 2011.

Some of his musical portraits will be included in the show. Other commissioned works will also be displayed.

The artist works mostly in acrylic and oil and most often paints on wood panels.

He takes his cue from the old masters, particularly early Renaissance Flemish painters, who often painted undercoats with fast-drying tempera and finished off with the richer oils.

"It's a method of working with a monochromatic opaque underneath and then coming back in and introducing color and subtle nuances," he says.

It was also a matter of practicality.

Burckhardt considers himself a fine art illustrator. He started his career pounding the streets of New York City looking to market his skills.

Illustrating book jackets, album covers and magazine articles taught him to work on a deadline.

Since that time, his career has exploded.

His client list reads like a Who's Who of the nation's most influential and includes Rolling Stone, TIME, Newsweek, SONY Records, The New York Times, Random House, Simon & Schuster, and even major league baseball.

And sometimes Burckhardt himself has a hard time grasping it all.

He describes his decision to pursue art as "a strange, slow evolution." And he credits his parents with never warning him of the impracticality of a dual major in art history and printmaking.

After all, both his mother and father taught at his alma mater, Baylor University, so his tuition was quite reasonable.

But it wasn't until his cousin told him about Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif., that Burckhardt discovered his true calling.

"It's the Harvard of design schools. I fell in love with it," he says. "I fell in love with the whole atmosphere of highly motivated and highly talented artists."

It was there that Burckhardt earned his third undergraduate degree, this time in illustration.

"Illustration was going through a great transformation at the time," he remembers. "It was dark and edgy. It took on editorial subject matter that really spoke to me not in technique but in content."

It was then he realized that he could paint not just technically accurate landscapes, or highly detailed portraits.

He could paint stories, the stories he had in his head. He could paint ideas and questions.

"I'm always hesitant to explain my paintings," he says. "But I do think that if you look at the body of those paintings you see the same symbols and characters coming up and I believe they begin to make the story a little bit clearer.

"Snakes, rabbits, goats, characters that show up again and again. They serve a function."

But just what that function is? Don't ask Burckhardt.

He's not telling.

(Marc Burckhardt will be telling something, however, as he's scheduled to give a free talk at the college on Friday, Feb. 3, at 11 a.m. The public is welcome.)

"Marc Burckhardt: Fables,

Musicians and Natural Wonders"

 Opens Wednesday

Artist reception, Feb. 3 from 5-9 p.m.

Artist talk, Feb. 3 at 11 a.m.

Exhibit cont through March 2

Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Free

Pa. College of Art and Design

204 N. Prince St., 396-7833
www.pcad.edu.