Geoffrey Butz has always held a deep love for oil paining. His Mother, Martie, saw his talent for art at a very young age and encouraged him to take fine art classes in drawing, painting and sculpture. In High School he learned of a program at Art Center College of Design where he took figure drawing classes with the accomplished artist Ray Turner. Geoffrey later was accepted into the renowned Art Center College of Design Full time and graduated with a BFA degree in Illustration. Ray Turner was Geoff’s biggest influence at Art Center, he also learned from Richard Bunkal, Steve Houston, Harry Carmean, Burne Hogarth, Brad Duram to name a few.
Since graduating from Art Center, Geoff's work has continued to evolve. Between 1996 and 1999, he showed his work at several galleries and art shows. He moved to Wisconsin in 2000 and began refining his work. In 2005 he showed his work in the Watertown Art Festival and where he won a purchase award from the Watertown Memorial Hospital.Geoffrey and his paintings were also featured in his town newspaper and his work was displayed at a gallery in Watertown's Historical "The Market" place. In 2006, Geoff again showed in the Watertown Art Festival as well as the Lake Mills Festival for the Arts. He is a member of the Watertown Art Council, Catholic Business Association and Business Network International.
Highlights in Geoff's art career:
Group Shows
- Glendora Art and Wine Festival 1998
- Several shows at local cafe/galleries in California 1996-1998
- Watertown Art Festival 2005
- Watertown Art Festival 2006
- Lake Mills Festival of the Arts 2006
- The Market in Watertown - Solo Show 2006
- Plein Air Cedarburg Competiton and Show 2016
- Watertown Main Street Banner Competion 2016-2017
- Plein Air Cedarburg Competiton and Show 2017
- Plein Air Jefferson Competiton and Show 2017
Associations and Other Events
- Donor of the Trinity Academy Auction 2002
- Member of the Watertown Art Council 2005
- Launched a line on fine art note cards 2005
- Started Geoffrey Butz Art and Design in 2005
- Featured in local news papers 2005-2006
- Member of the Jefferson County Tourism group 2006
- Member of the Catholic Business Association 2009
- Became Member of Business Network International 2010
- Became a Member of the Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Association 2015
- Art Instructor at Chesterton Academy Milwaukee