Watercolorist Mike Burns was educated at the University of Washington and Seattle Pacific College. He worked as an illustrator for The Boeing Company, Cole and Webster Advertising and the Washington National Guard.

Burns painted old abandoned farms, schoolhouses and other architectural relics in Eastern Washington and Oregon.  Rather than painting in remote locations, he used a camera to capture the structure and its detail.  The paintings were done in his studio.

In the book 40 Watercolorists and How They Work the artist talks about his work, "I think the distinctive aspect of my paintings is their simplicity, both in composition and subject.  I treat each painting as a portrait, with the building being the subject.  Only what is absolutely necessary in telling its story is included.  In fact, I sometimes find it necessary to eliminate all sky and landscape, leaving the subject floating on a white background."

Mike Burns was a member of the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Painters and the Northwest Watercolor Society.  His work has been exhibited extensively and he has won numerous awards regionally and nationally.