Mary Martin Gallery

Oil on Canvas

"An Important American Artist" Downé Burns is a self-taught artist who grew up in Lubbock, Texas. After studying art history and business at Texas Tech University for a brief time, he and his family moved to Santa Fe where Downé began painting. Having no formal training, Downé just began painting what he felt. He says, "I'm very interested in color. I simply like to see how bright I can get the canvas." Seeking to make a living being an artist, he began searching for a "theme." After creating a series of brilliantly colorful, impressionistic southwestern-style paintings, Downé became a renowned and sought-after painter, earning the title, "An Important American Artist." After years of success in the cosmopolitan art world of Santa Fe, Downé and his wife Melissa returned to Lubbock seeking "to get back to the basics of love."