Leslie Ann Butler

"Constrained by the physical, we are trapped by walls of dreams and delusion, and unable to see reality, which is unending joy. We choose to be defined by our seeming limitations instead of emerging into the realization that we are powerful beings with infinite consciousness. I strive to bring to light the reality that lives deep within, beyond what one can see with outer sight."

With bold color and a suggestion of motion, the work of Leslie Ann Butler asks the viewer to seek the light. The creative process does not end with the physicality of the painting, but is continued and enhanced through the eyes of each beholder into the creation of thoughts and emotions it brings out in them; this magic dance of connection is proof that we are not separate.

Butler works with acrylic paint, paper, charcoal, and pastels. In many paintings she has added a paint-obscured slide, which symbolizes the veil that covers our true vision. She paints squares and rectangles as windows that open to the light or boxes that shut it out.

Butler's education includes Lewis and Clark College, University of Oregon, Pacific Northwest College of Art, and The Art Institute of California. Her award-winning paintings have appeared in private, public, and corporate collections throughout the USA and Europe, including that of former president and first lady George H.W. and Barbara Bush and the late entertainer Michael Jackson. Her work has been featured in the TV series "Portlandia" and "Pretty Little Liars" In addition, her paintings have been shown in solo and group exhibitions at galleries and cultural centers across the USA.