Jim Burns
Jim Burns (disambiguation) • Illustration — Jim Burns with a Hugo Award at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow Jim Burns (born 10 April 1948) is a Welsh artist born in Cardiff, Wales. He has been called one of the Grand Masters of the science fiction art world.
Jim Burns
Szymona Sokoła · CC BY-SA 3.0
- Born
- 1948 · Cardiff.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- painter · illustrator · writer
- Education
- Saint Martin's School of Art
- Languages
- English
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Documentary summary
Jim Burns (disambiguation) • Illustration — Jim Burns with a Hugo Award at Worldcon 2005 in Glasgow Jim Burns (born 10 April 1948) is a Welsh artist born in Cardiff, Wales. He has been called one of the Grand Masters of the science fiction art world.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
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wikidata · Q2745954 · wikipedia · Jim Burns
In this article
Life and career
Life and career
In 1966, Burns joined the Royal Air Force, but soon left and signed up at the Newport School of Art for a year's foundation course. After the course, he went on to complete a 3-year Diploma in Art and Design at Saint Martin's School of Art in London. When he left Saint Martin's in 1972 he had already joined the recently established illustration agency Young Artists. He has been with this agency, later renamed Arena, ever since. He is today a contemporary British science fiction illustrator. His work mostly deals with science fiction with erotic overtones. His paintings are generally intricate photo-realistic works of beautiful women set against advanced machines and spaceships. While his preparatory sketches are more erotically focused, his final works and published book covers have a more academic tone portraying far off and imaginary worlds. Apart from book and game covers, Burns briefly worked with Ridley Scott on Blade Runner, and his illustrations and paintings comprise much of the book Mechanismo by Harry Harrison. He has also had books of his own works published, including Lightship, Planet Story (written by Harry Harrison), Transluminal, and Imago. Burns won the Hugo award for best professional artist three times and has also been awarded 12 BSFA awards. Well regarded in fandom, he was artist guest of honour at the 1987 Worldcon.
Portfolio
Portfolio
Work by the artist includes cover art for: • Eye (short story collection) (1985) by Frank Herbert • The Fury of Dracula (1987) a boardgame by Stephen Hand • Two books by Daniel Keys Moran • Armageddon Blues (1988) • The Long Run (1989) • Artificial Things (1989) for Karen Joy Fowler • Over thirty books by Robert Silverberg including The Face of the Waters (1991) • Aristoi (1992) by Walter Jon Williams • Upland Outlaws (1993) by Dave Duncan • Infinity's Shore (1996) by David Brin • The Stone Dance of the Chameleon series by Ricardo Pinto • The Chosen (1999) • The Standing Dead (2002) • The Third God (2009) • The Greg Mandel Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton • Mindstar Rising (1993) • A Quantum Murder (1994) • The Nano Flower (1995) • The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton • The Reality Dysfunction (1996) • The Neutronium Alchemist (1997) • The Naked God (1999) • A Second Chance at Eden (1998) by Peter F. Hamilton • The Confederation Handbook (2000) by Peter F. Hamilton • Fallen Dragon (2001) by Peter F. Hamilton • The Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton • Pandora's Star (2004) • Judas Unchained (2005) • The Void trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton • The Dreaming Void (2007) • The Temporal Void (2008) In 2014, Titan Books published a collection of Burns's art throughout his career, The Art of Jim Burns: Hyperluminal.
Identity and overview
Identity and overview
The following is established of the heading itself.
Works and production
Works and production
The following works and productions are recorded by name or by count. Institutional cataloguing adds that jim Burns is recorded with the occupation painter. The same evidence establishes that jim Burns is recorded with the occupation illustrator. Recorded with the occupation writer. The register further records that jim Burns is recorded as a citizen of United Kingdom. It is also recorded that jim Burns is recorded with the gender male. Born on 10 April 1948.
Primary material
Documents and archives
Institutional database
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q2745954: Jim Burns
Scholarly · Wikimedia Foundation
reference work
- “Jim Burns”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
Institutional database
Wikidata, structured authority record Q2745954: Jim BurnsWikimedia Foundation
Institutional witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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