Brian Butler - Artist Who Draws

all photos copyright 2008 Larry Hoyt

- click on image to enlarge -

==========================

Friday evening (7/25/08), I had the pleasure of meeting and chatting with Central New York artist Brian Butler during a reception for the closing of the Contemporary Gallery.

Brian is one of several artists whose work had been shown during the gallery's one and only group exhibit, which ends August 1.

His very busy, richly detailed drawings catch the eye with abundant miniatures depicting everything from faceless human figures to forests of cones, anonymous urban high rises to a rogues gallery of beleaguered human faces. Brian also incorporates larger stylized versions of sci-fi figures and border-line grotesque horror images.

Not surprisingly, Brian acknowledges his love of comic book images, citing the influences they have had on him, consciously and subconsciously. He also admits to something close-to-an-addiction regarding video games - often violent video games. "Everybody has a dark side," he mused.

When asked to chose one adjective to describe himself, he answered fairly quickly "eccentric".

Another word that came up in our conversation was "obsessive" - Brian's obsessive commitment to drawing detailed miniatures in his work.

The saying of this magic word, obsessive, prompted gallery co-founder Courtney Rile to check on and quote a comment made by Post-Standard art critic Katherine Rushworth in her July 13 article on the Contemporary Gallery:

"Brian Butler's obsessively detailed pen and ink drawings are obsessively compelling."

"It's what I do", he said, with no further explanation needed.

In cooperation with the Contemporary Gallery, a 16-page "coloring book" of Brian's work has been published is for sale at the Gallery for the ridiculously low price of $10!

If one includes the coloring book's cover drawing, that's 17 Brian Butler drawings for less than a dollar a piece. Only 25 copies of "The Coloring Book" were printed, and they are numbered and signed by the artist

(although I must add that on the copy I purchased, Brian's signature looks a bit rushed; still, I do trust that that is indeed his signature.)

On this blog, I shall generally refrain from making pronouncements regarding what I believe is good art, bad art, great art, or non-art.

So much of what goes into those judgements depends on the eye of the beholder, plus a great many other variables.

But I can say unequivocally that I found Brian and his art to be very interesting. Brian is obviously very passionate about his work and he seems to be taking it out as far as he can go.

I wish him all luck and great success.