Desert Mountain Scene Painting Don Burgess (unsigned)

Don Charlie Burgess, March 13, 1947 to January 3, 2018 

Don Burgess was born in Hollywood, California in 1947. He had a fraternal twin brother, John Burgess and two half-brothers, Christian Title and Irwin Title. He grew-up in the San Fernando Valley, and attended Canoga Park High School before going on to Otis College of Art and Design.

Don developed his painting skills while in college, and later studied under both Sergei Bongart and his older brother Christian Title.
After college he backpacked and traveled throughout Europe visiting museums and painting. Some of his most significant stops and areas of inspiration were Amsterdam, Italy, and Switzerland and the Montmartre area in Paris. In his early years, he was inspired by Impressionism, which was a critical influence in developing his own stylistic landscapes.

In addition to producing his artwork, in the late 1970’s and 1980’s Don owned a live music venue called the Blue Lagoon Saloon in Marina Del Rey, California. Numerous musicians had their start at his club including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Johnny Depp (The Runaways), and Katey Sagal best known for her work in the television productions, “Married with Children” and “Sons of Anarchy”. Etta James, sat-in on sets at the Blue Lagoon, and Jackson Browne, once sang at his birthday celebration.

During the last twenty years of his life, Don was inspired by the rural landscape of Warner Springs, California as seen  in his oil paintings, watercolors and drawings from this period. Don’s free time was spent painting in open fields and his art gallery. He shred his passion for art and painting by teaching art classes to children at local schools.

Don passed away in Warner Springs on January 3, 2018.
Source:  Written and submitted by Therese Maia, Production Manager at the Randy Higbee Gallery. Information received from Don’s nieces.