Burl Washington is an artist with a distinct sense of purpose. Through his art, he is determined to reveal aspects of America's western heritage that have either been ignored or oversimplified by historians. This is particularly true with regard to the role that the Black Americans assumed in its development.

Born in South Texas, Washington spent most of his childhood in rural environment, where he learned to paint with a box of watercolors given him by an aunt. He received his Associate of Arts degree from Texas State Technical Institute in 1972, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1977.

He prefers watercolors, displaying a unique ability to handle this difficult medium in his intriguing figure studies. He has developed a very personal technique that enables him to convey the soft innocence of a small child or the hardbitten wisdom of a Buffalo Soldier, with equal sensitivity. This rare ability to deal with diversity of subjects and moods has already generated substantial interest in his work, which is included in the collections of such notables as actor Danny Glover, former President Jimmy Carter, and West Point Military Academy to name a few.