Meet Bonny Butler | Bonny Butler/ Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bonny Butler and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bonny, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I always loved being creative. I would recreate old furniture into new, using chalkpaint and decoupaging the pieces I would find. And there is certainly creativity involved in grooming dogs and the many styles of clips. But raising my son and running the Dog Grooming business for 29 years had me go in a different direction. With my son grown and after I sold my business I returned to art, my first love. I took my first watercolor class in 2012 and discovered soon after that, Chinese Brush painting, alcohol inks, encaustic wax, collage and resin work, acrylics, oil pastels and my new and favorite medium at the moment, soft pastels. I think artistic and creatives have a calling and as George Eliot said “It’s never too late to be what you might have been”!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a vibrant artist whose boundless creativity knows no limits. With my adventurous spirit I try to translate my passions onto my substrates. I want my paintings to burst with energy, radiating a sense of life and vitality that will captivate all who behold them. My heart lies in the realm of abstract and impressionism, where I fearlessly explore the interplay of colors and shapes to evoke emotions and unseen landscapes. Through my brushstrokes and bold compositions, I’d like to invite the viewers on a visual adventure. Always inspired by nature, I begin with a thought in my mind. Flowers are a constant theme, but not always. I’m open to serendipitous moments and paint intuitively always keeping contrasting colors in mind, creating different shapes and mark-making.

I think where I am today in my art journey is a good place. I had decided when I first started 11 years ago, at 57 years old that I would walk through any door that presented itself. I would join all the local art organizations. I would try to get juried into the art organizations that appealed to my art style and continue my art training regularly. My art training has consisted of dozens of art classes, courses and workshops. I travel far, I stay regionally and I zoom. I don’t want to miss a thing.

I am now exhibiting in art shows all over Santa Barbara County, Ventura County, Santa Clarita County and in LA County. I’ve had numerous solo shows but what I’m most proud of was the acceptance into the Women Painters West, A Century of California Women Painters 100 Year Anniversary Exhibition at the Brand Library & Art Center in Glendale in 2022. There was also a WPW “Portraits” show at the California Heritage Museum in Santa Monica, being juried into the SB International Orchid Show, and most recently the California Art League juried a soft pastel into the Santa Paula Art Museum for the “California Scene” exhibit. Most recently I was commissioned to paint a “Conejo Cottontail” for a new business in Westlake Village and love that it will be seen as a Public Art Project by hundreds of people for years to come.

I have learned that you must be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire. And that you can’t just dream about success. You have to work for it. But it is a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together.

I am a member of Santa Barbara Abstract Art Collective, Santa Barbara Artist Association, Women Painters West, Santa Clarita Artist Association, Buenaventura Artist Association and Studio Channel Island Art Center.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
As I’ve just recently moved to Oxnard in Ventura County, I’ve become just tickled with all the wonderful things this area and surrounding areas have to offer. If I had company visiting, the first thing I’d do is to take them to my 5th St Beach which is here in Oxnard. Dogs get to run free, there are hardly any people, the sand is clean and the waves are picture perfect. Dipping your feet into our beautiful Pacific Ocean is everyones dream. Then we’d stop at one of the numerous fruit and vegetable stands here in Oxnard which is the Strawberry Capitol of the World! So fresh and flavorful. There is a wonderful hidden gem I love to frequent as I love to plein air paint and that’s the Ventura Settling Ponds by Ventura Harbor where you’ll see so many birds and ducks, geese, swans and nature at her best.

There are some wonderful restaurants on Main St. Ventura but I’m partial to the perfect hotdog at Bellringers and the iconic Pierano’s Market has the most amazing menu besides their famous deli selections. Spenser Makenzie’s is where it’s at for fresh fish and shrimp tacos and as for pizza, hands down coming from this New Yorker is Tony’s on Thompson Blvd.

Let’s talk art scene. Being an artist, I’ve come to love so much about Ventura County and Santa Barbara County. Bell Arts Factory, H Gallery+ Studios, Harbor Village Gallery& Gifts, WAV and Vita Art Center are all in Ventura. Take a 35 ride up to Carpinteria and stop at Carpinteria Arts Center for an artful scene and then drive up the gorgeous coast for another 25 minutes to SB and there are so many galleries. Gallery 113, VOICE, Elevate, Fine Line and Illuminations are just a few. I never had a visiter say they had a bad day visiting my hood!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to give a shoutout to all those that have supported me through my later-in-life artistic journey. My husband, son and siblings have been incredibly supportive in that they have always been right behind me in all my crazy endeavors. And having my art buddies from all my diverse groups to encourage me and help me walk through those sometimes frightening doors. It IS a journey and I cannot do this by myself. Having the continued encouragement, support and help means the world to me.

Website: https://www.bonnybutler.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/bonnysue1

Facebook: https://facebook.com/bonnybutlerart

Other: 1-bonny-butler.pixels.com https://www.pinterest.com/bonnysue1

Image Credits
Photo Credit of Bonny Butler is Ben Bibriesca