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GEOFF BUTTERWORTH

Watercolour Artist

Rolling hills, picturesque villages, and idyllic days art college material and ended up in engineering.”
of nostalgia.
After a motorbike accident at the age of 22, Geoff
The chances are if you are looking at a watercolour returned to painting, picking up the oil paints he had
painting of Rochdale and surrounding areas, you will enjoyed using as a child.
have stumbled upon a Geoff Butterworth: a name
synonymous with stunning landscapes, exhibiting It wasn’t until the following Christmas that Geoff
around 60 paintings a year. was introduced to the medium he is most famously
associated with – watercolour.
Geoff said: “I was always good at art, but when I
went to enrol at the art college I was told I was not He said: “I took to it straight away as it is a cracking medium to work with. Mum had bought me some He explained: “I was working on this picture when
good artist watercolours and I began to copy the I had my studio in Littleborough. I had my headphones
colour photos from a book. I tried to make them as on with loud music and, somehow, I saw pebbles
realistic as I could. bouncing off the window. It turned out a car in the
garage below was on fire, and I had to get out.
“I love the end result. I’ve used other mediums but
always find myself coming back to watercolours.” “I was half way through this painting, so I grabbed it
and some brushes, and finished it off at home on the
By his own admission, in 1980 Geoff received his kitchen table. I would never sell it.”
lucky break that lead to his success in Rochdale.
That same painting also won Geoff a £1,000 prize in
He said: “I saw an advert for a new furniture shop 1990 at the Laing Landscape competition at the Mall
looking for photos. I took 12 watercolours to show Gallery in London.
and they wanted to stock 40 so I had to get cracking.”
The small Yorkshire village, just a stone’s throw away
By September that same year, Geoff had sold several from Littleborough, remains one of his favourite
paintings and became self-employed. His first subjects, although he cites Castle Combe as a close
exhibition was held at Rivington, set up by a friend second as he had previously painted the Wiltshire
who lived at Stubley Hall in Littleborough and knew village from a book before visiting in person.
the gallery’s owners. This show taught him what
would sell in commercial galleries. Rochdale Town Hall has also featured heavily in
Geoff’s work over the years, particularly in
He added: “I was still in plaster from my accident illustrations of the town during the 1960s.
when I completed my first local scene. A friend of
mine who lived in Littleborough met me at the park He smiled: “I have painted the Town Hall so many
and I painted the water wheel of the old library. It times, and Rochdale in the 1960s, as I remembered
started raining so I finished it off at home.” it as a child. I went nearly every Saturday: I loved
Yorkshire St in 1968 with the square, the old cinema
Whilst Geoff has painted hundreds of landscapes and the hundreds of people walking along the street.”
over the years, a summer scene of transport links in
Achievements during Geoff’s career include winning the Best Picture award at the British Society of Walsden remains his firm favourite. Geoff’s current exhibition can be viewed in the
Painters Exhibition for three consecutive years. Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre.
He was elected to join The Royal Society of Arts and The International Guild of Artists.
He was subsequently made an Associate of the British Watercolour Society as a result of the consistent www.geoffbutterworth.co.uk
high quality of his work.

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