The work of John Overton-Burns has been exhibited throughout Western New York for many years, attracting fans of his paintings and sculptures of bathroom appliances, especially toilets, and depictions of the gameshow “Wheel of Fortune.” A superb draftsman, colorist, and painter, Overton-Burns creates unexpectedly elegant and beautiful oil pastel drawings and acrylic paintings of his favorite subjects, and figurative paintings of people he knows. He creates pen and marker drawings of trains, people, and motor vehicles, which have a more precise, graphic quality, and he designs his own three-dimensional paper models. Overton-Burns also enjoys assembling model kits, which he does without need for enclosed instructions. Teaching Artist Todd Lesmeister observes, “John is a great problem-solver, he is mechanically minded.” Several of Overton-Burns’ pieces were highlighted in the exhibit “One Way or The Other” at the University of Toledo Center for the Visual Arts Main Gallery in 2017.
