Curt Butler, oil & encaustic

Curt Butler is an oil painter who incorporates encaustic into his mixed media paintings. After receiving a BFA from Kent State University in Ohio and Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, Butler relocated to North Carolina where he currently resides.

Primarily a landscape painter, Butler chooses to represent the memory of a place rather than depict a distinct location at a specific time. By painting the recollection of a setting, Butler’s paintings seem familiar while their source remains unknown. Butler’s current work is a mixture of oil paint and encaustic painting techniques. Encaustic involves the mixing of melted wax (in Curt’s case, beeswax) with oil paint to create a pliable, textured surface. This technique allows Butler to carve into the painting’s surface to expose underlying layers of color.

Additionally, Butler is a dedicated educator and has taught at Braitman Studio, Gaston Day School, Gaston College, and Gaston School of Arts in North Carolina. In 2002, he was honored with the Teacher of the Year Award at Gaston Day School.