Brandie Butcher- Isley

I am a self taught artist living with teenage daughters in Iowa

Brandie Butcher-Isley

I am a self-taught mixed media artist living with my family in West Des Moines, Iowa.

Art has been my lifelong obsession. It is what keeps me grounded and happy. After many artistic endeavors I find myself here today and I only hope to continue evolving.

My art as you see it today grew from a shoebox of photos of family relatives my grandmother gave to me. Inspired, I wanted to tell their stories. Armed with a lifetime of shared family history, I began down the path I am on today.

I have moved from my family collection to discarded photographs of individuals discovered at estate sales and antique stores who have now found their place in my art. Not given the privilege of learning their history, I have built a fictional story through layers of paint, ephemera, and many mediums, to breathe life back into these individuals whose photographic records have been misplaced or forgotten.

Accomplishments:

Most Recently:
• My collage paintings have earned me the honor of being chosen by the Des Moines Metro Arts Alliance as their November 2008 Featured Artist.
I have been published in:
• November’s issue of Pasticcio
• I have been published twice in Somerset Studio Magazine.
• Exhibition 36 a Gallery of Mixed Media Inspiration by Susan Tuttle, Description and preorder availability on www.amazon.com and due to arrive in bookstores November, 2008.
Awards:
• “Best in Show” at West Des Moines Iowa’s Valley Junction Fall Art Market, 2008,
• "Best 2-d Artist" at West Des Moines, Iowa's Valley Junction Fall Art Market 2007.
• Honorable mention award from the Des Moines Women’s Club Annual Art exhibition 2008
• Winning prize of a CD cover art contest for an up and coming local band.