June Butler

"My name is June Butler. I was born in 1962 in Dublin, Ireland. I've always been passionate about painting and my memories of my childhood are of constantly painting and drawing since I first learned how to mix colours. I entered numerous art competitions as a child, Texaco Children's art competition being the main one. I won the overall top prize in the Texaco competition two years in a row when I was 15 and 16 - I was the first overall in 40,000 entrants. Since then, as I've shown my work, it has been mainly in joint exhibitions with one solo show in a leading art gallery in Dublin in 1994. However, for the most part, I usually paint to commission and I've been lucky enough to sell everything I've ever painted. I used to paint equestrian portraits and all of the paintings done at this time were all sold on commission.
I have never had any real formal training but I completed a 1 year part-time visual art diploma in Dun Laoghaire Art College in Dublin several years ago - I felt that the best way to understand drawing and painting was to go back to the beginning and life drawing was the key - Since then I have completed several life drawing courses and of course, I am completely passionate about colour. I love the fact that people can interpret different things from my paintings and I like using everyday recognisable shapes in the paintings but combining them with abstract images. I also love the image of realism combined with abstract components and I try to see humour in all my paintings - I've always maintained that if my paintings make people smile or laugh, then I feel I've achieved something. I'm a firm believer in making art accessible to absolutely everyone and I hope people get a sense of communication from my paintings.

I took some time out for a few years to critically evaluate my life and painting was something I always knew I'd come back to when the time was right. I'm entering the final year in a degree in Psychology but I've also started painting again and I find that I've become totally immersed in images of colour and creation - the hiatus has made me more creative. Maturity has possibly helped as well!!"