Pat Butynski graduated from Middlesex County College in Edison, NJ, with an
Associate's Degree in Marketing Art & Design.
She went on to study “Personality in Design” at the School of Visual Arts, by
invitation, with Milton Glaser, and Illustration, at The Parsons School of Design,
both in NYC. ( both have combined to become known as The Parsons New
School of Design!
After 26 award-winning years in Graphic Communications, 15 of which were in
her own business, Pat packed up her Pat Garhart Design Works identity, and
surrendered to full-time homemaking and motherhood due to her eldest son
illness.
A year later, in 2000, Pat found an old box of watercolor paints and brushes
given to her by her mother, an oil painter, when Pat was 19 years old.
The paint and everything in the box was as good as new! The dabbling began.
After a year of painting everything in sight, “including the kitchen sink,”
Pat sought further instruction at the nearby DuCret School of Art in Plainfield, NJ.
During her study, Pat was recommended to Gallery One Main in High Bridge, NJ
by the Dean of the school. They took her work on. Gallery Petite, the adjoining
artist co-op, pursued her for membership while her fellow students at DuCret
began to pursue her as a teacher. Unexpectedly, Mrs. Butynski was back in
business.
With 15 shows in her first year of exhibiting, culminating in a One Woman show
of her representational work called “The Painted Year”
at the renowned Swain Gallery in Plainfield, NJ, her work entered the personal
collections of many art patrons.
Eventually, Pat called a halt to the show machine in order to paint for love again,
grow creatively while caring for her son. She selectively continued to show in
outdoor and indoor venues such as “The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ,
Swainsʼ Gallery, Plainfield, NJ, The Center for Contemporary Art, in Basking
Ridge, NJ, as faculty, the Garden State Watercolor Society, The Dupre Gallery in
Montclair, NJ, The New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, in Summit, NJ, also as
faculty, the Fredericks Gallery in Allenhurst, as well as, The North East
Watercolor Society in Kent, Connecticut, as a signature member, the Morristown
Community Theater Upstairs Gallery, The Butterfly Gallery in Red Bank, NJ, The
Montclair Art Museum, Faculty Shows, as well as Gallery Concrete in here
hometown of Red Bank, NJ. In her last exhibition, 37 original paintings were
displayed.
Pat is a signature member of the North East Watercolor Society and an
associate Member of the National Watercolor Society. Her work
has received numerous awards. Pat was juried into the New Jersey Watercolor
Society Exhibition for her piece "Resurrection." In their prior show, Pat received a"
The Nicholas Reale Award " for her piece: "Let There be Light" at the Monmouth
Museum.
Best of Show from the American Artists Art Alliance for her watercolor
Gathering.
Pat has taught weekly classes for many organizations in NJ. She continues to
teach yearly workshops at The Yard School of Art, at the Montclair Art Museum
in Montclair, NJ.
" My passion is for restoring the love of painting to students who were
taught
To paint inside the box and outside of themselves.
I LOVE to see an artist move from recording to creating by providing
conceptual direction, demonstration, encouragement, and safety!"
Today, after a long bout with Ménièreʼs disease, Pat has found a niche on social
media, where her work has encircled the globe in private collections. She is
considered a national and international abstract/ mixed media painter, as well as
an “ influencer “ @patbutynskiarttalk .
When asked how she grew her Instagram account, her short version is
simply...”Grace.”
When asked to elaborate, “ I started with three followers just about three years
ago, and today, by loving to paint, as well as loving artists... I have enjoyed an
unexplainable momentum, for which I am astounded and unashamedly
transparent and grateful. I donʼt see myself as an artist to be ‘brandedʼ or my
followers as ‘numbersʼ. We are artists and we are in it together. That mindset and
my Faith are my true north.”
You can find Pat on Facebook at “Pat Butynski” & “Just Art with Butynski”.