Artist feature: Jason Butler

Jason Butler is an acclaimed, well-known local artist who is known for his ability to capture the personalities and distinct features of his portrait commission, making him the perfect choice as the artist behind the 100 Years of Gerald Durrell: Dedication miniature sheet.

The team at Jersey Stamps got in touch with Jason to find out more about how he forged a career as a professional portrait artist.

Aside from his love of football, Jason always had a keen interest within the art world. Coming from a family who were in trades like painting and decorating, it’s no surprise that he would pursue a career in art.

However, it wasn’t until the age of 13, when his art teacher at secondary school really helped to hone his talent. This encouragement led Jason to refine his skills in pursuit of an artist career, he commented that at the time: “I was only interested in football and drawing and I wasn’t ever going to be good enough to be a professional footballer!” 

In terms of art styles, Jason said that he was very much a painter, saying: “I follow what feels right rather than ever working to a style. There are two elements to my work, the portrait commissions and my personal contemporary work. They are very separate from one another.”

who Jason commented that there are too many historic artists that he admires but the ones who always remain present within his thinking are Titian, Velazquez, Manet, Rembrandt, Goya along with Matisse.

With new art trends appearing regularly, we asked Jason if there’s any he would want to try in his own work, he replied with a ‘Definitely not!’. He has a very unique style, which makes his portraits easily distinctive.

Jason doesn’t have a particular favourite subject that he likes to paint either. For him it’s more about the actual process of making paintings he loves, commenting: “I tend to rework my paintings over long periods of time, and they change massively during that process. I want the work to have a real sense of time and feeling.” 

Before he begins painting for a commission, Jason will pursue his own research to get a deeper understanding of the person’s spirit. Despite Gerald Durrell’s passing in 1995, he remains a much beloved legend in Jersey. To ensure the person behind the legacy was captured within the portrait, Jason visited Gerald’s apartment that holds an array of treasured objects and books that reflected Gerald’s interests. He also met with Gerald’s widow, Lee Durrell, to learn about how Gerald liked to entertain guests, getting a better understanding of the lesser talked about and more casual side of the conservationist.

 In contrast to the stamp set which depicts black and white photographs of key moments in Gerald’s life, the team opted to commission the portrait, which When it came to painting the portrait and his method for creating the artwork, Jason said: "As I was working from an old black and white photo it was a challenge in getting the colours and details right. I had to spend a lot of time building up the layers of the skin tones and getting to know his face. I repainted the face several times to create a sense of physicality.”

In terms of a quote, Jason will remind himself during his career when saying: “Nobody cares, work harder.” Jason has done a brilliant job with ensuring Gerald’s personality shines through in the painting. In thanks for all their assistance with this issue, the portrait Jason has kindly painted for the miniature sheet has been gifted to Lee Durrell who remains a keen supporter of her late husband’s work.