Landy makes it to the "big time"...

Imagine our surprise when Buff and I were watching the American Idol finale and we saw this during the trailer of the new movie "Crazy Stupid Love" starring Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Kevin Bacon, Julianne Moore and a number of other big names. I guess my Landy made it to the "big time"!

Wall-E and I team up to help pups find their furever homes...

Hello everyone, I'd like to share a little, but somewhat lengthy, story with you. In March of 2011, I was approached by Amanda Kloski vet-tech and foster parent to Wall-E, the now-famous pup who survived euthanasia twice. She wanted to know if I would paint a portrait of him to help raise funds to build a new shelter that they are in desperate need of - part of the reason he was scheduled for euthanasia. After hearing the entire story, I thought, how could I say no? I was humbled by their request. It was also odd that just several days earlier I had read Wall-E's story, and like most stories involving our four-legged friends, it moved me in a profound way. If you are unfamiliar with Wall E-'s miraculous "tail" of survival, please see his story located here or his appearance on ABC's Good Morning America located here.

I am sharing all of this with you because my portrait of Wall-E is now complete. I set aside close to three weeks of studio time to work exclusively on this piece and I am extremely proud of the finished work. I cannot begin to tell you how difficult it was to keep this project under wraps for nearly two months and I am very excited to now share the piece with you. In capturing Wall-E's personality I decided to portray him in his forever home, relaxing on his favorite chair with a pillow that conveys his big heart and love for life. Next to him is a bouquet, again representing a "beautiful life", with a shamrock arranged above his head to symbolize his good luck as well as the real shamrock-like image on his behind (see his appearance on Good Morning America to see what I mean!). I am also happy to report that as of late last week, Wall-E has officially found his "furever home." I truly believe my portrait is a perfect example of life imitating my art - a reality that I've spent my career as an artist to try and make happen for as many animals as possible. However, we still have a lot of work left to do - there are many more Wall-E's still out there. Hopefully, through his story, my art and your support - we can help even more pups and kittens find their furever homes as well. Ultimately, I believe Wall-E is still with us for a certain purpose, and that purpose is threefold - that through his "tail" of miraculous survival, he is here to help his fellow four-legged friends, to remind us all of the importance of animal adoption and to stress the necessity of local spay and neuter programs. If through my art, I am able to help deliver Wall-E's message and speak on behalf of those that cannot, then I have done my job as an artist and an advocate for all animals. ~Your friend through art and for the animals, Ron Burns p.s. Please remember to use the Like and Tweet buttons on this page located here and help us spread the word about Wall-E's miraculous "tail" of survival. CLICK HERE TO LEARN HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT WALL-E'S AND HIS FOUR LEGGED FRIENDS