Since the 1960's, Roy E. Burgess has been painting the people and cultures that he experiences....urban to rural....Indian reservations to Benedictine monasteries.  He travels the back roads and streets painting people from other racial, religious and nomadic cultures going about their everyday lives.  The artist is naturally drawn to the less fortunate of society.

Burgess' first series of paintings were of the Indians and ranchers who lived in the western United States.  Next, he traveled to Alaska to paint the Inuits and trappers.   Returning to his roots in the heartland of America, inspired the artist's first museum exhibit titled " Rural Roots."   The paintings are of farmers and small-town people feeling the pressure of encroaching civilization and corporate farming in their rural area.  The " Rural Roots " paintings were
viewed in art museums of America and Russia in the 1980's.

Burgess returned to Russia in the early 1990's with another series titled, " Streets." These paintings capture the inner-city people, from the homeless to the taggers that call the streets home.   After three years in Russia, the paintings returned to America.

After the "Streets" opening in Russia, Burgess moved to a  Benedictine monastery dedicated to serving the Indian people in South Dakota, USA.   For two years he was artist-in-resident at Blue Cloud Abbey.   During that time Burgess painted the Native American people that the monks were dedicated to helping.  In the late 90's,  he moved to the West Indies to research and paint the 82 nationalities living in the Caribbean Islands.  

In 2001, the artist visited the Hawaiian Islands to develop a series about the unique people that inhabit the beautiful islands of the Pacific.  This series called 'OHANA will debut in 2008 on theHawai'ian Islands.  The paintings will be the first exhibit for PEOPLE....Respecting Diversity, a non-profit organization founded by Roy E. Burgess.  The 501 (c) 3 organizes fine art exhibits that celebrate our diverse cultures, religions and races.

     ALL IMAGES ARE COPYRIGHTED BY ROY E. BURGESS
    The images cannot be reproduced without the artist consent.