Carlos Burgess is a self-taught artist whose medium ranges from fine contemporary art to cartoon illustration. He also has experiences in working with digital design projects with six years hands-on experience working in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. His strengths in art include portrait art, cartoon character development, and painting landscapes and seascapes. Carlos was originally born in San Diego, however he lived roughly half of his childhood growing up in Virginia Beach due to his father being in the Navy. This constant moving and seeing different parts of the country is a reflection of how versatile he is with the art mediums he likes working in. 

Academically, Carlos studied Fine Art at Tidewater Community College at the Portsmouth campus, but felt a stronger calling to join the military and have a career similar to his father’s. He joined the Army in 1998 and had a 12 year career as a soldier in the U.S. Army and Georgia National Guard. His duty stations were at Ft. Hood, Texas, and the Atlanta metro area. He was deployed twice serving a peace keeping mission in Bosnia in 1999, and in 2003-04 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. While living in the Atlanta area, Carlos received an Associate’s Degree in Electronics and Computer Technology. He developed a career as a field service technician for 15 years working mostly at the CDC in Atlanta.  

In October of 2009 Carlos was diagnosed with Chronic Kidney Failure.  He continued to work at the CDC as well as doing some art work on the side.  In August of 2016 his health worsened due to complications from dialysis treatments.  He later moved up to Virginia Beach to be close to his family and recover from his various ailments.  It's during this road to recovery where Carlos dedicated his life to his art.