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Turning A Passion Into A Career Talking About Art With John Burns

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Tuesday October 25, 2011

By Cookie Steponaitis

Many Americans are talented individuals who have placed their talents in the category of a hobby. They quite reasonably talk themselves out of pursuing it as a career only to find their lives crossing paths with their passions repeatedly until a change is warranted. Case in point, John Burns! John first fell in love with art and drawing when he was in junior high school at MacArthur High School in Hollywood, Florida. He saw posters that advertised movies and music concerts and he was hooked. John began by simply drawing what he saw, first on his own and later in art classes in school. He tried first to recreate images of the music group The Monkeys and then moved on to The Beatles. Much to John’s shock, he sold his first pencil sketch in ninth grade and began to channel his talent and his passion for art.

Like many teens he experimented in high school with acrylics and tried different formats and mediums of art, but returned again to his love of drawing. While he most enjoyed scenery and animals sketches, John never really considered his art a career and moved on in life with a career in the U.S. military and moves that took him to Virginia, Wyoming and finally settling in Vermont. While living in different locations around the nation, John’s family kept bringing back to the surface his art by asking him to draw sketches of his family, animals and even to experiment with painting in oils, water colors and expanding his choices of backdrops from canvas to include white board and antique saws. “My brother-in-law was forever calling me and asking for a new piece,” shared John. “He would see an image on a puzzle box or from a photograph and ask me to paint it, draw it, or put a rendering on a saw. I can’t tell you how many times I said, ‘No, I don’t think I want to do that right now,’ and still found myself with another new project.”

While John’s wife Mary also serves as a source of inspiration and helps critique his work, John describes his experiences with art as mostly, “…all pleasure.” While he officially works in the VUHS facilities department, John has found that since 1990 his passion for drawing, painting and creating art has emerged from the status of hobby and increasingly earned him praise and focus in Vermont. People interested in seeing his work are encouraged to look at Bub’s Barn in Vergennes, Vermont’s Own in Middlebury, The No Bridge Restaurant in Addison and in Frenchman’s Restaurant in New York State. Many who have seen his art comment on the quality of his pieces and ability to capture the spirit and feeling of the person, animal or location he paints. Even though he can draw on experiences from living across America, John shared that his inspiration comes from Vermont and the scenic beauty of the Green Mountain State.

For those Vermonters who have a hidden talent and passion, John encourages you to seriously think about taking it out of storage and letting it become a viable part of your life. “I simply get pleasure from my works,” shared John Burns. “And it is really pleasurable to see that it brings joy to other people too.” The Valley Voice salutes John Burns and all the other Vermonters who have talents they take for granted and have yet to bring them to the surface for others to see. Many of John Burns’ works look ready for each of us to step into them and join in the scene, bringing together one man’s talents, the scenic beauty of the state we proudly call home, and that secret longing in the lives of so many to turn a passion into more than a hobby!

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