Robb Burnham (aka WACSO) is an ad guy and artist whose images of the Twin Cities, some of which are showcased here, capture in a subtle way the soul of our towns. Look at Burnham's atmospheric, subtly colored, slyly humorous images of familiar and not-so-familiar places and people (the back door of the Poodle Club, a Saint Paul house with a single room lit up, a ponytailed dude having breakfast at Connie's on University Avenue) to remind yourself why we love these towns. And then read Meleah Maynard's account of the adman as emerging artist.

Robb Burnham can't remember a time when he didn't carry a sketchbook for drawing or "just making scribbles." He started taking his drawings more seriously about six years ago when the owner of Java Jack's (now Jack's) called to ask for a drawing he had done of an older couple who frequented the south Minneapolis coffee shop. "I hung out at Java Jack's a lot and when the man passed away, they wanted to hang the drawing I'd done of them," Burnham recalls. "They wore big, 1970's sunglasses and drove an old Jaguar, and were really icons of the place."

The experience left Burnham, longtime creative director for the Minneapolis ad agency Kruskopf Coontz, pondering his own art; the takeaway being "there's a lot of great stuff out there that doesn't hang around forever," he says. And so, he became the illustrator known as WACSO, a moniker that describes his method which involves, simply, "Walking Around Checkin' Stuff Out."

On an Art Roll

These days, after keeping the identity of WACSO under wraps for a few years, Burnham is becoming increasingly well known for his work. His first exhibition, held at Minneapolis' Gallery 360, went well. And the shop, which features work by local artists, offers prints of his illustrations on a continuing basis.

In addition to the illustrations he contributes regularly to Minneapolis' Downtown Journal and Southwest Journal, Burnham is working with an art rep and takes on a limited amount of commercial projects. The next time you see an American Express sticker on the window of a Minneapolis bar or restaurant, lean in close and you'll likely see one of his drawings featured alongside the credit card company's logo. WACSO illustrations also graced Dunn Bros. holiday cups this past season. "I don't have much time but when the right assignment comes along, I will definitely take it," he explains.

As for the future, Burnham plans to continue his collaboration with writer Mike Cronin on illustrated profiles of people and places. For the foodie website "The Heavy Table," for example, the duo did a not-to-be-missed, R-rated piece about St. Paul's Gopher Bar. And for the Southwest Journal the two of them take readers on a tour of an actual, working saddle shop. "I want to do more of that kind of stuff, drawings with writing behind it," he says. "The words are just as important as the pictures for telling the whole story."

Meleah Maynard's last article for The Line was a look at the Target Center's green roof, in our August 10, 2011 issue.