Since the 1960's, American artist Roy E. Burgess has been painting the people and cultures that he experiences....urban to rural....Indian reservations to Benedictine monasteries.

Burgess paints common people going about their daily lives. Traveling the backroads and streets, he meets people from other walks of life.

His first series of paintings were of the Indians, trappers and ranchers who lived in the western United States and Alaska. Returning to his roots in the heartland of America, inspired Burgess’ first museum exhibit "Rural Roots". The paintings are of farmers and small-town people and were viewed in art museums in the 1980's.

A smaller, scaled down exhibit of selected "Rural Roots" paintings traveled and were viewed in the Soviet Union as part of a history making American/Soviet artist exchange in 1989.

Burgess returned to the Soviet Union in 1991 with another series titled, "Streets." These paintings capture the inner-city people, from the elderly, the hardworking, the homeless to the street muralists.

After the "Streets" opening in the U.S.S.R., 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 he painted the Native American people that the monks were dedicated to helping.

In the late 90's, the artist moved to the West Indies to experience the cultures of the Caribbean Islands.

In 2001, Burgess visited the Hawaiian Islands to create a series about the unique people that inhabit the beautiful islands of the Pacific. The artist is currently working on the ‘OHANA paintings.

His paintings are unique ambassadors of goodwill to other countries and cultures. A respectful, humble way of learning about people around the world.