visual artist and founder of Jonah Art LLC

Jonathan D. Burns

Jonathan D. Burns is often classified as a visual artist and owner of Jonah Artfolio (an e-commerce clothing store) but if you ask him directly – he will tell you that he is spiritual being first and a creator second.

He doesn’t call himself a visual artist because he believes that art is a tool he uses to do something much bigger than painting – create! He has created clothes, home accessories, sculptures, animations, scripts, poetry and more.

If you were to ask Burns what inspires him then he will tell you “art!” His niche is creating art out of previous artwork that he has created. The joy he gets from creating art out of art is watching something he creates evolve until it has an identity of its own.

Here are some words from Jonathan directly:

“Most of us start out doing art from when we are babies. You know, you put the crayon in a little two-year-olds hand and watch them scribble on surfaces. Well, some people stop. I just never stopped. I continued to do art. That’s how I got better at it. As a matter of fact, I explored creating art in different ways. I remember when I was a little kid, this was around the beginning of AOL. My mom brought computers home that her job was throwing out and there was this program called PAINT. I remember I would go on the computer and play with that program. Making all kinds of graphic art. Most of the graphic art I created at that time was horrible. But nonetheless I was creating.

Now I love incorporating my paintings and drawings with graphic design.

I paint and draw animals, abstract work but mostly portraits of people. I started out picking people that I know personally. Its easier to ask someone I know, “hey can I paint you?” than it is for me to ask a stranger. But now, I’ll ask anybody I want to if I can paint or draw them. Most people are honored to be selected by an artist to be a muse for their next project. So, I like using people that I find interesting. I’m not big on painting celebrities.

Political figures, humanitarians, celebrities and athletes are just now my thing. I remember I created an art piece inspired by Tina Turner before she passed away and that piece was done in a more abstract kind of way. So, I didn’t even take my realism approach with that. Instead of creating artwork of people that everyone knows. I would much rather create art of people that I think everyone SHOULD know.

I’ve done two paintings and colored pencil drawings of my mother, I’ve done a painting of this one guy who’s a spiritualist and does hoodoo. I’ve done a colored pencil portrait of a woman who is in the process of doing things differently than she always has done things and is putting her mental health and wellbeing first (which I love). I’ve done a painting of my barber who is also an artist and has some cool perspectives on life. So just everyday people. Everyday people like you and me.

I feel like, why should only politicians and celebrities and athletes be worthy of our attention. Do you not do great things? Do you not get up out of bed and handle your business despite the depression you go through? Do you not wake up and feed your family, so they know their loved and well cared for? Are you not giving up 8 +hours of your life each day just to bring home enough to keep a roof over your head? Like---money and fame is cool but, being a part of this everyday life of struggles and triumphs that we have normalized to the point of not even recognizing our own triumphs and amazing deeds---is pretty admirable.

We everyday people deserve to be looked at and not just loved but ADMIRED. I want to help bring that to the table.

Art doesn’t have to be of somebody who is great and has broken world records. Your life is a beautiful (or moving) art story that deserves to not only be heard but be seen. I want to help show that to the universe.”