MAX BUTLER

I truly love my country and thank God every day that this is where He placed me to enjoy my short time on Earth.

Seven years ago, my wife, Pam, and I purchased a Fiat Ducato mobile home so that we could head off and explore this beautiful land. We called our van Morrison and he has taken us all over Australia. Besides the usual snaps of people and historical gems, I take hundreds of photos of the land, usually from a high vantage point. The subjects are not always scenic, but I can always find colours that perhaps an untrained eye does not see. A boring vista of dead grass on a dry, salt-bush plain provides an opportunity to place splashes of bright yellow and blue together on a base of brilliant red and orange.

The viewer will notice that most of my paintings are set against a backdrop of rugged, majestic mountains - because I love this type of scenery. Instead of painting iconic scenes such as Uluru, The Three Sisters, The Twelve Apostles, etc, I choose to paint just the everyday places we see as we drive along the highways of this great country. I do not call my paintings “West of Boulia”, “Vineyards at Denman”, “Canefields near Ingham”, and so on. I simply call them “My Country” and have numbered them in order of execution since I began this series in May 2003. The series now consists of over 540 paintings.

For some, these paintings will be too bright. I do not apologize for this. They are meant for modern homes where a red cushion needs a bright red tree on the wall above to add balance to the room, or deep blue mountains juxtaposed beside a blue vase will create a special harmony. I search for the right colours to place beside others in order for the painting to come alive. And, if we look hard enough, those colours are right there in the landscape of my country. It is my dearest hope that the images will remind you of places you have been and perhaps in your future travels, you will find places that remind you of my paintings. That would be nice.

Art Exhibitions

Oct    2008         “Seven Stars”  at RQAS
May   2010         “My Country”  solo exhibition at Martin Galleries
Dec   2010         “Live Art”  at Martin Galleries        
Sept  2011           Feature Artist at “Gourmet in Gundi” Art Festival
June 2013          “Max Comes Home” solo exhibition at Miles.
July 2014            Solo Exhibition at Boonah Regional Gallery
Feb 2015            Solo Exhibition at Haven espresso gallery
Dec 2017            Solo Exhibition at Aspire Gallery, Paddington
May 2018            Finalist in the Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
May 2019            Finalist - Brisbane Rotary Art Spectacular
June 2019           Finalist - Royal Qld Art Society, Brisbane Landscapes Exhibition
May 2022           Online Finalist - Lethbridge Landscape Prize
June 2022          The Tower Art Show, Brisbane
Aug 2022            RNA Ekka Fine Art Exhibition
2023, 2021         Salon des Refuses - Lethbridge Landscape Prize
2023                   RNA Ekka Fine Art Exhibition: Highly Commended

Art Awards

1990 - Highly Commended, Miles Art Show
1990 - Highly Commended, Ascot Art Show
1991 - First Prize, Miles Art Show
1997 - First Prize, Ascot Art Show
2005 - First Prize, Royal Qld Art Society Annual Art Exhibition
2006 - Grand Champion, Royal Toowoomba Show
2007 - Third Prize, Live Life Villages annual art show
2008 - First Prize, Miles Show Society
2008 - Second Prize, Miles Show Society
2009 - Highly Commended, RQAS Artstate Awards
2010 - Third Prize, Weller’s Hill State School Art Show
2013 - Highly Commended, Royal Qld Art Society Annual Art Exhibition
2015 - People's Choice Award, Royal Qld Art Society Annual Art Exhibition
2015 - Highly Commended, RNA (The Ekka) Annual Art Exhibition
2017 - First prize, Petite Pieces at Aspire Gallery
2019 - First Prize Royal Qld Art Society, Brisbane Landscapes Exhibition
2021 - Lethbridge Landscape Prize Salon de Refuses
2022 - RNA Ekka Fine Art Exhibition, Landscape Category - Highly Commended