Born in Providence, RI, Charles Burdick first won a scholarship at the age of 9 to attend a class at the Rhode Island School of Design. Following service in WWII, he returned to RISD, but transferred after a year to Art Students League in New York. His instructors included Reginald Marsh, Will Barnett and Edwin Dickinson. In the 1960s, he began to summer in Provincetown, MA.

In 1966, he moved to Wellfleet on Cape Cod, and established his studio there. He supported his family of five by selling his artwork from his studio and in juried, largely outdoor shows around the country. Since 1976, he has wintered on the east coast of Florida and shown at shows there. He has won numerous awards over the years, but he eschewed working with a gallery and did little publicity, preferring to sell his painting directly to the collector. Recently, his daughter established a gallery to display his art in a more formal setting.

Animals have always been a favorite subject since the 1950s, particularly horses and bulls. In the 1980s he produced a series of Peaceable Kingdoms and Noah's Ark paintings as well as circus paintings. Late in the 1980s, he did a medieval series based on the Unicorn. Most recently, he has been painting playful, imaginary paintings of famous artists working in their studios, often using the palette and stylistic references of the subject.