- Words by David Wylie Photography by Don Denton
Paul Butvila doesn乌鸦传媒檛 fit the mould of the traditional Canadian artist.
His fascination with fantasy, realism and popular culture has earned him rejections from so many galleries over the years that at one point he threw his paints and brushes into the garbage.
乌鸦传媒淚t got me on such a downer and I quit,乌鸦传媒� he said in an interview from his West Kelowna studio. 乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檇 had enough of getting rejections from Canadian galleries telling me to be more serious and stop fooling around with this fantasy stuff. They admire the ability to paint the way I do, they just don乌鸦传媒檛 feel that the subject matter is salable. If I didn乌鸦传媒檛 love painting, I would have given it up a long time ago.乌鸦传媒�
Paul, 68, persisted and began gaining traction with his larger-than-life 乌鸦传媒淕otta Wear Shades乌鸦传媒� series, featuring beautiful women with reflections in their glasses. He favours airbrushing乌鸦传媒攁 technique often used in the customization of collectible cars乌鸦传媒攖o create his works. It乌鸦传媒檚 a method that fits perfectly with his fascination with classic vehicles and flashy chrome.
Painting has always involved a certain measure of persistence for Paul, whose parents bought him his first oil painting set when he was 15 years old.
乌鸦传媒淚 proceeded to paint two paintings, small ones, landscapes that I made up out of my head, and found out how bad it was. I figured there乌鸦传媒檚 no way I was going to do this and gave up. Paul would copy pictures from the covers of TV Guides: actors, actresses and also cartoon characters.
At about 20 years old, he found inspiration in fantasy book covers乌鸦传媒攑articularly those done by artist Boris Vallejo, whose hyper-representational paintings earned him a dedicated following. Paul bought books with Vallejo乌鸦传媒檚 covers as they became available.
Indeed, fantasy art was pervasive at the time.
乌鸦传媒淎 lot of guys in the 1970s were copying Frank Frazetta乌鸦传媒檚 paintings on their vans. I had one of those vans,乌鸦传媒� he said with a laugh.
Paul brought the fantasy books to art classes, trying to learn how to emulate them, but he couldn乌鸦传媒檛 get the knack. He decided to try going to the source. Paul knew Vallejo lived in New York and he managed to track down his number through the telephone directory. 乌鸦传媒淚 dialled the number and this fella answered with a heavy Spanish accent. And I said 乌鸦传媒榠s this Boris, the artist?乌鸦传媒� He said 乌鸦传媒榶eah it is.乌鸦传媒� I said 乌鸦传媒榳ow, cool!乌鸦传媒� Back then, he was quite accessible.乌鸦传媒�
The two got talking and Vallejo said to look him up if he was in New York. He accepted it as an invitation. He stayed with him for about a week in Yonkers, NY, and watched him paint every day, sitting beside him for eight hours.
After that week, Paul went home and started painting again乌鸦传媒攁nd the results were much improved. Eventually he was able to recreate Vallejo乌鸦传媒檚 work almost exactly.
For about five years after that one-on-one training, Paul painted his own fantasy works.
乌鸦传媒淚 got relatively okay at it, but there was no real market in Canada for fantasy art. That was all in the US, and it was all for publication illustrations,乌鸦传媒� he said.
He transitioned into painting realism乌鸦传媒攆ocusing especially on chrome, motorcycles, buildings with glass reflections and water. He still struggled to make sales.
乌鸦传媒淚 think Canada is really into trends and stuff that is appealing to more people, a wider audience. And when they see stuff that I do, the audience is quite narrow,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淕alleries would say it乌鸦传媒檚 too trendy and just a fad, so I started approaching galleries in the States and at the age of about 50, I started getting a little bit of recognition with a few galleries with my realism work.乌鸦传媒�
Paul乌鸦传媒檚 own unique style began to emerge. He started to earn a following of his own, especially outside of Canada. He乌鸦传媒檚 since been picked up by Skye Art Gallery in Las Vegas as well as Plus One Gallery in London, England. He乌鸦传媒檚 about to send a new collection to a gallery in Hawaii.
In Canada, Paul乌鸦传媒檚 work is at Karmyc Bazaar in Kelowna, Tumbleweed Gallery in Penticton and Grant Berg Gallery in Grande Prairie.
His sensual art has also been displayed at Ex Nihilo winery in Lake Country.
Paul has been working on a series called 乌鸦传媒減aintings of the stars,乌鸦传媒� where he cuts aluminum into star shapes that are 18 inches in diameter, and then airbrushes portraits of Hollywood actors.
乌鸦传媒淚 like aluminum because with airbrushing the smoother the surface the better, and you can get higher detail,乌鸦传媒� he said.
Paul stopped using oil paints about 10 years ago, choosing instead to airbrush with acrylic paints. It dries instantly which allows him to work quickly, he said.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e been painting for 45 years, so I think the overnight success happens at year 50,乌鸦传媒� he said. 乌鸦传媒淪o we乌鸦传媒檙e getting close.乌鸦传媒�
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on
