Downe Burns

Biography

Largely a self taught artist, Burns studied business and art history at Texas Tech University for a brief time before leaving to paint on a regular basis. The paintings of Texas Native Downe Burns reflect not only his immense talent, but his passion for painting.

Burns’ move Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1987. Inspired by his surroundings he chose the southwestern landscape with its saguaro cacti and melded his own unique compositions and use use of unforgettable colors. His paintings have progressed thru several series over the years. Floral, Abstracts, Southwestern, Tuscany landscapes and figurative. His list of credits is extensive. A painting series, A View To A villa, created in 1985 captured the attention of viewers in galleries across the nation and thus began his career. At the age of 24, he had already been the subject of profiles on television, radio, newspapers and magazines. His paintings were chosen for numerous private and museum collections. He was also chosen for many national promotions with companies such as Kahlua, Marlboro, Sanoma Valley Vineyards, Vitality Magazine, Anderson Valley Vineyards, Wines of America and Fox Television Network. In 1996 he was chosen as the official artist for the Kodak International Balloon Fiesta. He created the first ever sell out image. He has gone on to create the 1998 and 2004 balloon images. In 1997 he created the image for the Atlanta ESPN 10K Run. You may have also seen his work on television shows Beverly Hills 90210, Melrose Place, Suddenly Susan and Promised Land.

Downe Started his own publishing company in 1990 called Wet Paint Publishing. The company published fine art prints and limited editions of his artworks. The company also extensively licensed Downe’s images to other companies who reproduced his unique artwork onto ceramic tiles, T-shirts, greeting cards and calendars. Feeling the need for fresh surroundings and inspiration, Downe ceased operations of his publishing company in 1995 and returned home to his birth place, Lubbock, Texas.

Upon returning to Lubbock Downe rested his paint brushes for a period of time. During this time he started a small landscape maintenance company – Star Landscape. This was a welcomed change and much needed opportunity to “recharge” his creative battery.

In 1997, after an 18 month rest from painting Downe began a new series of works his calls “Old Ways” and “Live To Be Still”. These paintings reflect his surreal interpretations of the Tuscan landscape and light. Bright and bold colors continue to be his underlying theme. Collectors often refer to this series as the “crooked houses”. He painted a vast body of work in this series from 1997 until 2006.

From 2007 til the present time Downe continues to paint as well as focus attention on Star Landscape, which has grown into one of the largest landscape maintenance companies in the Lubbock, Texas area.