- Words by David Wylie Photography by Don Denton

Paul Butvila doesn鈥檛 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.

鈥淚t got me on such a downer and I quit,鈥� he said in an interview from his West Kelowna studio. 鈥淚鈥檇 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鈥檛 feel that the subject matter is salable. If I didn鈥檛 love painting, I would have given it up a long time ago.鈥�

Paul, 68, persisted and began gaining traction with his larger-than-life 鈥淕otta Wear Shades鈥� series, featuring beautiful women with reflections in their glasses. He favours airbrushing鈥攁 technique often used in the customization of collectible cars鈥攖o create his works. It鈥檚 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.

鈥淚 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鈥檚 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鈥攑articularly those done by artist Boris Vallejo, whose hyper-representational paintings earned him a dedicated following. Paul bought books with Vallejo鈥檚 covers as they became available.

Indeed, fantasy art was pervasive at the time.

鈥淎 lot of guys in the 1970s were copying Frank Frazetta鈥檚 paintings on their vans. I had one of those vans,鈥� he said with a laugh.

Paul brought the fantasy books to art classes, trying to learn how to emulate them, but he couldn鈥檛 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. 鈥淚 dialled the number and this fella answered with a heavy Spanish accent. And I said 鈥榠s this Boris, the artist?鈥� He said 鈥榶eah it is.鈥� I said 鈥榳ow, cool!鈥� Back then, he was quite accessible.鈥�

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鈥攁nd the results were much improved. Eventually he was able to recreate Vallejo鈥檚 work almost exactly.

For about five years after that one-on-one training, Paul painted his own fantasy works.

鈥淚 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,鈥� he said.

He transitioned into painting realism鈥攆ocusing especially on chrome, motorcycles, buildings with glass reflections and water. He still struggled to make sales.

鈥淚 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,鈥� he said. 鈥淕alleries would say it鈥檚 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.鈥�

Paul鈥檚 own unique style began to emerge. He started to earn a following of his own, especially outside of Canada. He鈥檚 since been picked up by Skye Art Gallery in Las Vegas as well as Plus One Gallery in London, England. He鈥檚 about to send a new collection to a gallery in Hawaii.

In Canada, Paul鈥檚 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 鈥減aintings of the stars,鈥� where he cuts aluminum into star shapes that are 18 inches in diameter, and then airbrushes portraits of Hollywood actors.

鈥淚 like aluminum because with airbrushing the smoother the surface the better, and you can get higher detail,鈥� 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.

鈥淚鈥檝e been painting for 45 years, so I think the overnight success happens at year 50,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o we鈥檙e getting close.鈥�

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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