All images are (c) Ron Burns and provided from the artist’s library. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Click any image to view larger.

Perhaps one of the most successful pet artists of our time, Ron Burns has taken his passion for painting and turned it into a true movement . . . inspiring others, raising funds for animals in need, and most of all creating beautiful artwork. It’s rare to find someone who not only possesses seemingly limitless talent but who lives his life with the same spirited excitement and passion as his canine subjects. In a career that has spanned more than two decades, Burns has become one of the most sought after animal artists, generating a huge following and earning up to five figures for commissioned pieces.

Born in rural Ohio in the 1950s, Ron was a popular athlete and student body president who met the love of his life, Buff, in ninth grade. After graduating from Ohio State University with a degree in industrial design, Ron and Buff headed west to find their dreams and start their lives. Landing a job at an industrial design firm in Beverly Hills, Ron quickly worked his way up the ladder and, after being offered a management position, decided to venture into the business world on his own; he opened Ron Burns Designs with Buff, whom he married that same year. The duo successfully serviced clients by creating their corporate identities, marketing programs, and packaging for retail products. It wasn’t long until the demands of business took over Ron’s life. Fast forward several years and historical milestones (such as the 1987 Whittier Narrows Earthquake and the 1992 Los Angeles Riots), and the Burns family was on a completely different path.  Using art as a form of self-expression and escape from the demands of the corporate world, they had moved to Sedona, Arizona, where Ron was beginning his career as a full-time artist. During this same time, Ron met his canine muse, Rufus, who captured not only his heart but the hearts of millions as the star of several Burns paintings and books.

Portraying his pal Rufus in his paintings ultimately led Ron to start projects featuring shelter animals. Ron was so touched by the plight of these animals, and his passion for promoting the importance of pet adoption was born.

Throughout his career, Ron and Buff have continued to support countless animal charities throughout the U.S. and even created their own initiatives to further help charities in need. Little Orphan Animals™ (“LOA”) is a complete line of artwork featuring orphaned cats and dogs, with the goal of spreading the word that there are countless animals looking for their Furever Homes™.  Each image is inspired by Ron’s paintings of the shelter animals he has met in his travels around the country. The LOA characters have helped raise more than $650,000 for spay/neuter initiatives in Arizona through their use on pet-friendly license plates, and Burns has another program to help them raise money for animal organizations nationwide. The second initiative, Furever Homes™, is a raffle program developed to help organizations generate excitement and donations through the use of Ron’s popular artwork. Various animal organizations sell raffle tickets and one lucky winner gets their pick of any Burns limited edition painting, valued up to $2,000. With each of these initiatives, Ron is making it possible for charities to raise much-needed funds to support their mission and, most of all, help animals in need.

It’s easy to see why Ron Burns is so popular. The vivid colors, the priceless expressions, and the charitable ties make his art a worthy investment and a representation of the power of philanthropy. His books are the perfect conversation starter or personal escape. Rufus Rhymes will steal any animal lover’s heart and have you softly singing to your dog as they drift off to dreamland. There is something for everyone in Ron’s portfolio, and his popularity grows with each new endeavor.

Perhaps the most inspiring thing about Burns is his commitment to making a difference.  His philanthropic efforts have never wavered, and he has continued to add rescue animals to his pack when able, like his current canine companions Emma and Loganberry. Ron is more than an advocate: He is a role model for anyone that wants to make a difference for animals, a shining example of how great life can be if you follow your dreams. We were jumped at the opportunity to get to know Ron a little better. It is a busy time for the artist, who is currently working on a 20-year retrospective, traveling to promote his artwork and charitable endeavors, and, of course, painting! We wanted to know a little more about Ron himself, his love and respect for dogs, his commitment to raising money and awareness for charitable organizations, and how he followed his passion and became one of America’s favorite artists.

LIFE+DOG:

When did you first fall in love with dogs?

Ron Burns:

I developed a love of dogs very early on. When I was just a kid, we had a dog named Brownie and I thought the world of him. We played a lot together until one day, on the ride home on the school bus, he was chasing the bus and it hit him—it was devastating to me.

LIFE+DOG:

Did you grow up in a dog family?

Ron Burns:

We always had dogs—but they were always the outdoor type of dog, tied to the dog house at night, bales of straw around them in the winter to keep them warm. I grew up in Ohio in the late ‘50s to early ‘70s. Now we would never think of our “kids” living outside.

LIFE+DOG:

Tell us about the dogs you have now.

Ron Burns:

We have two rescues now. Loganberry is a black Lab mix weighing in at 40 pounds. She looks like a puppy at that size, and everyone adores her. She sleeps at our heads every night. We say her breed is Labradorable. Our other girl is Emma, a Doberman-Rottweiler-German Shepherd mix. She is a real diva. She is stubborn and knows what she wants—usually love and attention work just fine.

LIFE+DOG:

How do you feel dogs impact humans’ lives?

Ron Burns:

If allowed to be a family dog and companion, they calm the soul and mind and keep us centered. They show us what is important in life—the basics and having a good time.  They don’t get all keyed-up over things that really don’t matter. My boy, Rufus, who launched my painting career, changed my life forever by simply giving unconditional love.

LIFE+DOG:

What is your favorite thing about having dogs in your life?

Ron Burns:

Coming home is always a pawty! Every time we walk in the door, we are greeted as if we had just returned from a long trip. They constantly remind us why they are called “man’s best friend.”

LIFE+DOG:

How did you get started in design, and how did that lead to your personal art?

Ron Burns:

I wanted to be in a creative field that was also business related, and a degree in industrial design with an emphasis in visual communications from Ohio State University provided me with just that. Years later they gave me a Professional Achievement Award—but it was for the fine art and philanthropy work that I had done, not for the actual degree I received from the university. The School of Industrial Design was in an “L”-shaped building. One wing was ID; the other, fine art. I would walk through the fine art wing on my way to my classes and look in the glass windows at the art students and drool. Dog people will understand that term and feeling.

LIFE+DOG:

What were some of your favorite design projects?

Ron Burns:

Our firm took on a certain amount of pro-bono work, and we did an image package for a children’s hospital’s craniofacial clinic. They went around the world and donated services for children with cleft palates. That was very rewarding. The most interesting was doing Dick Clark Productions’ annual report and seeing Dick.

LIFE+DOG:

How was the corporate side of work different than the work you do now?

Ron Burns:

It was very good training for running the business side of the art world. It also pushed me into being a painter as I got ever more frustrated in the corporate world and looked to painting as a release. It gave me an understanding for color and composition as well. I remember taking an art class, the only one in my life, and they taught students how to mix colors to achieve various colors. With my graphic design background, that just came intuitively to me. It also helped with composition. And the advertising side has been helpful in coming up with titles for my paintings. The corporate world is blue suits and ties, while the artist world is jeans and t-shirts. The corporate world back then was navy blue, forest green, and burgundy; the art world was a splash of color—do what you want!

LIFE+DOG:

How do you balance the pressures of maintaining your artistic expression while running a business?

Ron Burns:

I have great people that work with me to achieve common objectives. That helps a lot.  At the same time, we bite off more than we can chew. By doing what we can to support the animal causes, staying focused on social networking and PR, and painting, it keeps a person running. Of course you add to that the usual bookkeeping, inventory control of the limited editions we do, and a constant eye to sales for wholesale and retail accounts and now you’ve got yourself a business. Figuring out how to make a profit from what you love to do and a little extra for the causes you believe in is the biggest ongoing challenge, especially in these times of economic downturn.

LIFE+DOG:

What is your favorite thing about the time you have reclaimed in your life by leaving corporate work behind?

Ron Burns:

Can’t say I have found a lot more time. I think it is more about how I spend the time I have now. It is spent running our business and doing what I love to do, which is painting as opposed to marketing and promoting someone else’s business.

LIFE+DOG:

How long have you been painting?

Ron Burns:

Twenty years! I am currently doing a retrospective on our website. It is a good feeling knowing I started an art movement with my style of bold, colorful dogs and that many have followed in that path. My hat is off to those that give back a percentage to the animals in need.

LIFE+DOG:

Did you start out painting animals?

Ron Burns:

My first subjects, as you can see on our website, was big, bloated businessmen with little tiny heads. (Do you think I was working something out there?) Each piece had a statement to be made about the corporate world or the corporate culture in general. From there I also moved on to chrome and monochromatic still lifes. I am self-taught, so my self-prescribed homework was to take a picture of a white coffee cup on a white saucer with a steel spoon next to a chrome napkin holder and paint it in a rush of color as opposed to grey-scale. It was the foundation for painting tan, beige, black, and white dogs in full, living color. I wanted the viewer to get the same feeling they must have had when we went from black and white to color television.

LIFE+DOG:

What is your favorite part of painting animals?

Ron Burns:

I love capturing their spirit and energy in a still-life portrait. I know when I am done that the animal on the canvas possesses the same energy as the living, breathing animal I had as my subject.

LIFE+DOG:

Is there a secret to capturing the true personality of a pet on canvas?

Ron Burns:

The eyes!

LIFE+DOG:

How has your love of dogs inspired your artwork?

Ron Burns:

I started out painting our “kids” but after people asked about purchasing them, and they began to sell, my wife asked me not to sell any more paintings of our animals. Knowing that a happy wife makes for a happy life, I visited a shelter in Aspen and took some pictures of their dogs waiting for homes. When I got back to the studio I did a series of paintings, then upon doing an exhibit in Los Angeles, I sold the dog paintings over the businessmen and chrome art and knew I was on to something. I wrote a check out to the shelter in Aspen and started a program called “Art is Going to the Dogs.”  I believe it is important to give back to that which enriches your life. To this day it is part of my mission to do what I can to raise the awareness of the many cats and dogs sitting on death row waiting for their “furever” home.  I find that when I spend a day at the local shelter looking at all those wonderful cats and dogs and then go back into the studio to paint from those experiences, it can’t help but be reflected in my art.

LIFE+DOG:

What’s been your favorite pet commission thus far?

Ron Burns:

I can’t say there has been just one. It is just such a deep honor when you find out someone so treasures your art that they entrust you to capture the “furkid” they love so deeply on to canvas. Some of the experiences I remember  have to be doing the Elizabeth Taylor commission as well as a commission for a person who saw my dogs playing cards (a whole other story) and asked me to do his two cats and three dogs playing cards.

LIFE+DOG:

What has been the highlight of your career thus far?

Ron Burns:

The most moving experience was going to the memorial for Sirius, the bomb-detection dog who lost his life in a tower on 9/11. The biggest highlight is to know I can make a living painting puppies and kitties. If you would have told me 20 years ago that painting my little rescue-boy Rufus would have taken me on this journey, I would have laughed at you. And, as I mentioned before, to know it has turned into an art movement—I am touched.

LIFE+DOG:

Is there an animal that you would like to paint, whether “celebridog” or companion animal?

Ron Burns:

There is a blond Lab, Buddy, at the farmers’ market that my wife and I go to on Saturday mornings who has stolen my heart. But I can honestly say, I could paint my past “buddy” Rufus every day. I still miss him so.

LIFE+DOG:

Do you take your dogs to work with you? If so, how does having your dogs around change your workday?

Ron Burns:

The “girls” are with me every day. They hang out with me and remind me why I do what I do. They keep me focused. Rufus used to have a favorite chair in the studio, and he would hang out there until I left the studio; then he was right on my heels, following me wherever I went. That’s how he earned the nickname “Velcro.”

LIFE+DOG:

What’s next on the horizon for Ron Burns?

Ron Burns:

To continue to perfect my art and to do what I can to help all cats and dogs find their furever homes. To that end, I see doing more books, developing working relationships with corporations and the media, exposing the world to the beauty of dogs through art by way of exhibits in galleries and museums, and then spending my evenings curled up with the girls—Loganberry, Emma, and my wife, Buff.

LIFE+DOG:

In an ideal world, what would you see the role of dogs being?

Ron Burns:

I think they are doing it. We just have to pay attention to what they are trying to tell us.  Lighten up and live a little!

LIFE+DOG:

What animal groups do you support or advocate on behalf of?

Ron Burns:

There are way too many to mention all of them here. But I am the “Artist-in-Residence” for the Humane Society of the United States, and I applaud the efforts they take to support animals in so many ways. I do what I can for many of our local shelters and rescue groups in Arizona. And there are several others around the country that I hold close to my heart for the work that they are doing. One is Main Line Animal Rescue—for placing a billboard four blocks from Oprah’s TV studio and getting her attention to do a show about the animals looking for homes. The Good Dog Foundation for the work they do with training assisted therapy dogs and the work they did at Ground Zero. Canine Companions for Independence—making life easier for humans with disabilities.

LIFE+DOG:

If you could describe your feelings for dogs in one word, what would that be?

Ron Burns:

Love.

To learn more about Ron, his artwork, and his charitable endeavors visit www.ronburns.com.