Artist Portfolio: John Burton

Garrick Webster meets the traditional painter who’s now creating sci-fi concept art

- Garrick Webster

With artworks that turn awesome landscapes into beautiful visual poetry, and gallery shows all around the US, John Burton is a California painter that fantasy and sci-fi artists are sure to find inspiring. His incredible use of colour and ability to capture the ruggedness of the landforms and the nuances of light, climate and atmosphere have been honed over decades of plein air painting using oils on canvases five to six feet wide. Looking at his paintings, it’s not hard to imagine a dragon coiled around a rocky crag to the side of a great mountain, or a star cruiser alighting at a distant desert base.

The artist has seen this too, and one of the things that makes him so interesting is that his latest mission is to take the understanding of light, form and colour learned over three decades painting outdoors and turn it to his advantage in the world of concept art. Things are all a bit hush-hush still, but soon John’s creativity will be seen on the silver screen.

“I’m currently working for a production company for two upcoming feature films,” he explains. “I can’t discuss details, except that they’re both in the science fiction genre, and the worlds have been very inspiring to explore.”

This exciting new strand to John’s career began in 2017, with an event called the Art Summit, held at a mansion by the sea in San Diego. Organised by John and the concept artist Dylan Cole, the summit brought together leading artists working in the entertainment industry and traditional artists who have shown in museums and galleries around the world. Attendees included Bryan Taylor, John Park, David Dibble, Jonathan Bach, David Levy, Joe Pepe and Jonathan Berube. The event opened John up to a whole range of new creative opportunities.