Brian Kantz, Buffalo, NY-based writer and editor

FROM BUFFALO SPREE - SEPT./OCT. 2005

MAKING ART HIS DAY JOB

This should be everyone’s story. †It’s the story of risk and reward and doing what you were meant to do in life. †But it’s not everyone’s story. †It’s the story of one David Butler. †Listen carefully, though, and you might just find the secret to making it your own.

For more than 20 years now, Butler has been doing what he loves: creating art of all kinds. †He is, at once, an accomplished painter, actor, set designer, poet, writer, performance artist and stained glass craftsman. †The trouble was, to pursue these crafts and put a roof over his head and food in his belly, he had to hold a day job. †Art was always more than a hobby to Butler, however, and he spent years dreaming of how he could turn his passion into a full-time career.

Then, this past year, something inside him — his inner Nike, perhaps — ignited and he decided to just do it. †He took the leap, making PROcreation: David Butler Designs, his life’s work and, yes, his day job. †

“Since college, I’ve worked for someone else,” says Butler, whose youthful looks and engaging personality make him 44 going on 21. †“This is the most exciting and terrifying time of my life. †Owning your own business has a lot of risks, but also the potential for a lot of rewards. †I’m looking forward to the rewards.”

And the rewards for Butler not only come in commission and awards (he won the 2005 Artie Award for Set Design for his work on She Stoops to Conquer at the Irish Classical Theatre Company, where he serves as resident set designer), but also in the satisfaction that comes from delivering one-of-a-kind art to his clients.

His new venture, PROcreation, specializes in residential and commercial mural painting/faux painting, event décor, set design, visual art and stained glass.

One recent triumph is a marvelous mural that transformed the stairway of a Tonawanda home into a view of an Italian lake and hillside. †The scene is so realistic that the owner reported getting up at night and — whoa — catching herself from tumbling down into the water as she descended the staircase.

As he tells that story, Butler laughs with utter satisfaction. †“In all of my murals, I really want people to feel like they can step right into the scene,” says Butler, who has become quite skillful at trompe l'oeil, the technique of creating a two-dimensional scene that is so naturalistic that it looks real or three-dimensional. †“I’ve learned those techniques in painting backdrops for the theatre. †Color, light and perspective are so important on stage. †The ability to achieve those effects puts you in a much smaller category of painters.”

Another success came from a hockey-themed event décor that Butler designed for a local bar mitzvah celebration. †Butler recalls a team of teenage boys crashing through the ballroom doors and running headlong into a line of six-foot-tall cut-out hockey players. †The boys rang out in unison, “Awesome!” — an unmistakable declaration of approval.

Butler’s reputation for artistic creativity is legendary in Western New York, especially in downtown Buffalo and the Elmwood Strip, the place he calls home. †And he likes it that way. †“I love to create things that don’t seem possible at first and that have a real ‘unexpected’ quality about them — and I guess I’ve become known for that. †I take that as a great compliment.”

A few years back, for instance, Heidi Halt, executive director of Buffalo’s Neglia Ballet Artists, was looking for an item not readily available at your neighborhood art store: chicken legs. †We’re talking giant chicken legs. †And not a giant chicken, mind you — just the giant legs. †After calling around town to people in the know, one name kept popping up. †Call Dave Butler, they said. †He’s the man to build some giant chicken legs for your next stage production. †And build them he did — red, spindly and tendon-laced and perfect for the show.

†

†“As you get older and more experienced working with materials, you know the right thing for the right job,” says Butler, whose blue-ringed fingernails give away the palette of his latest painting project. †“A college professor of mine once said that all the materials you need are always in front of you, you just need to think of things not as they are, but as they could be.”

In that same way, Butler realized that a full-time career as an artist was right in front of him, he just needed to think of his life not as it was, but as it could be. †And that should be everyone’s story.


Brian Kantz



		© 2008 Brian Kantz • All rights reserved • Contact Brian

	FROM BUFFALO SPREE - SEPT./OCT. 2005 MAKING ART HIS DAY JOB This should be everyone’s story. †It’s the story of risk and reward and doing what you were meant to do in life. †But it’s not everyone’s story. †It’s the story of one David Butler. †Listen carefully, though, and you might just find the secret to making it your own. For more than 20 years now, Butler has been doing what he loves: creating art of all kinds. †He is, at once, an accomplished painter, actor, set designer, poet, writer, performance artist and stained glass craftsman. †The trouble was, to pursue these crafts and put a roof over his head and food in his belly, he had to hold a day job. †Art was always more than a hobby to Butler, however, and he spent years dreaming of how he could turn his passion into a full-time career. Then, this past year, something inside him — his inner Nike, perhaps — ignited and he decided to just do it. †He took the leap, making PROcreation: David Butler Designs, his life’s work and, yes, his day job. † “Since college, I’ve worked for someone else,” says Butler, whose youthful looks and engaging personality make him 44 going on 21. †“This is the most exciting and terrifying time of my life. †Owning your own business has a lot of risks, but also the potential for a lot of rewards. †I’m looking forward to the rewards.” And the rewards for Butler not only come in commission and awards (he won the 2005 Artie Award for Set Design for his work on She Stoops to Conquer at the Irish Classical Theatre Company, where he serves as resident set designer), but also in the satisfaction that comes from delivering one-of-a-kind art to his clients. His new venture, PROcreation, specializes in residential and commercial mural painting/faux painting, event décor, set design, visual art and stained glass. One recent triumph is a marvelous mural that transformed the stairway of a Tonawanda home into a view of an Italian lake and hillside. †The scene is so realistic that the owner reported getting up at night and — whoa — catching herself from tumbling down into the water as she descended the staircase. As he tells that story, Butler laughs with utter satisfaction. †“In all of my murals, I really want people to feel like they can step right into the scene,” says Butler, who has become quite skillful at trompe l'oeil, the technique of creating a two-dimensional scene that is so naturalistic that it looks real or three-dimensional. †“I’ve learned those techniques in painting backdrops for the theatre. †Color, light and perspective are so important on stage. †The ability to achieve those effects puts you in a much smaller category of painters.” Another success came from a hockey-themed event décor that Butler designed for a local bar mitzvah celebration. †Butler recalls a team of teenage boys crashing through the ballroom doors and running headlong into a line of six-foot-tall cut-out hockey players. †The boys rang out in unison, “Awesome!” — an unmistakable declaration of approval. Butler’s reputation for artistic creativity is legendary in Western New York, especially in downtown Buffalo and the Elmwood Strip, the place he calls home. †And he likes it that way. †“I love to create things that don’t seem possible at first and that have a real ‘unexpected’ quality about them — and I guess I’ve become known for that. †I take that as a great compliment.” A few years back, for instance, Heidi Halt, executive director of Buffalo’s Neglia Ballet Artists, was looking for an item not readily available at your neighborhood art store: chicken legs. †We’re talking giant chicken legs. †And not a giant chicken, mind you — just the giant legs. †After calling around town to people in the know, one name kept popping up. †Call Dave Butler, they said. †He’s the man to build some giant chicken legs for your next stage production. †And build them he did — red, spindly and tendon-laced and perfect for the show. † †“As you get older and more experienced working with materials, you know the right thing for the right job,” says Butler, whose blue-ringed fingernails give away the palette of his latest painting project. †“A college professor of mine once said that all the materials you need are always in front of you, you just need to think of things not as they are, but as they could be.” In that same way, Butler realized that a full-time career as an artist was right in front of him, he just needed to think of his life not as it was, but as it could be. †And that should be everyone’s story.