BIOGRAPHY	PORTRAITURE	DIGITAL ART	CARD DECKS
COMMISSION CHRIS	LINKS	CONTACT

Chris has been nominated in the 'Favourite Artist' category for the Kindred Spirit Awards 2013. Click HERE or on the image above to vote for him.

 

Chris secured his first job as an illustrator aged seventeen. He entered some of his work into a contest at a TV convention and before he knew it, he was in the conference centre bar discussing terms with a sci-fi magazine editor. He was subsequently commissioned by Space Voyager magazine to illustrate a series of cult celebrity interviews. Many years later, his drawings and paintings have found their way into collections not only in the UK but also in the United States, Italy and Portugal.

From 2002 he has worked full time as an artist and illustrator. He has worked under decorative artist Tony Raymond, assisting on design schemes, murals and trompe l'oeil in large houses and stately homes across the UK and Ireland. Tony was instrumental in encouraging Chris to devote himself to a full time art career and remains a strong influence.

From 2004 onwards he also began to work with digital media. Chris learned some of his digital skills from Ciro Marchetti, the award winning illustrator and creator of the best selling Gilded Tarot (Llewellyn Worldwide. 2004). Ciro very generously mentored Chris's photoshop apprenticeship by email for a period of almost a year and he remains one of Chris's primary inspirations in this area.

One of the greatest influences on Chris's work is the mystical imagery of the Tarot. He discovered the cards at the age of thirteen through watching the James Bond movie 'Live and Let Die'. He was gripped by the strange figures on the heraldically coloured cards and that fascination has remained with him for over thirty years. He met tarot writer Kay Stopforth in early 2006 and within a month or so they had begun their collaboration on the Quantum Tarot. The deck was published by Kunati Books in Autumn 2007 and is now published in a revised edition by Lo Scarabeo. Quantum Tarot 2.0 can be purchased from Amazon using the links below:

ORDER QUANTUM TAROT 2.0 FROM AMAZON:

Quantum Tarot : Version 2.0 : Tarot Deck: 78 Full Colour Tarot Cards and Instructions (Amazon UK)

Quantum Tarot: Version 2.0  (Amazon.com)

 

Subsequently, Chris has worked on The Son Tarot, which is published with an accompanying book (written by Chris) by Schiffer Books. The Son Tarot can be purchased from Amazon using the links below:

ORDER THE SON TAROT FROM AMAZON:

The Son Tarot: Mysticism, Meditation, and Divination for Gay Men  (Amazon UK)

The Son Tarot: Mysticism, Meditation, and Divination for Gay Men (Amazon.com)

 

The Lenormand Oracle Cards and their accompanying book (again by Chris) will be published by Schiffer Books in the Autumn of 2013.

Major Arcana cards from the Son Tarot. Published by Schiffer Books. Autumn 2012.

Aside from his digital work, Chris continues to work as a portrait artist and was recently commissioned by the William Walton Trust. The resulting pieces are now housed in the Walton Museum on the island of Iscia, Italy.

Images from the Son Tarot were recently featured in the bi-annual arts journal Sachet Mixte, to accompany a detailed article on the deck's development and the writing of the accompanying book. Sachet Mixte can be purchased in hardback or paperback editions from Lulu or from Amazon as a Kindle download:

ORDER SACHET MIXTE KINDLE EDITION FROM AMAZON:

Sachet Mixte (Amazon.Com)

Sachet Mixte (Amazon UK) 

Chris's digital art was showcased in the March/April 2012 issue of Kindred Spirit Magazine. He has recently been nominated in the 'Favourite Artist' category for the Kindred Spirit Awards 2013. You can vote for Chris at the Kindred Spirit Web Site or directly to the magazine via email.

A selection of Chris's digital works also feature as part of the White Exhibition at the Virginia Gallery, Glasgow in December 2012.

Chris Butler holds a Bachelor's degree in Theology from Heythrop College, University of London. He now lives in his home city of Liverpool, UK.

Chris's first illustrations for Space Voyager Magazine (February, April and May issues 1985). Chris's work featured as part of a series of interviews with actors from the popular sci-fi series Dr Who. Left to right: Interview with Mark Strickson, interview with Michael Wisher and inside front cover featuring Sarah Sutton.