Miami-based artist Brian Butler aka Upperhand Art has spent most of his life next to the beach. Before moving to Florida, he grew up less than a mile from Rexhame Beach in Marshfield, where nature – the shift of tides, crabs, lobsters, seagulls and rolling waves – influenced his unique art style.
“ The beach is just such an incredible source of inspiration,” he told Dashboard. “The vastness of the sea, salty air, dunes and wildlife are just imprinted on my identity. ‘By the sea I pledge my love to thee’, man. That salty air has certainly carried over into my murals and artwork.”
Butler’s surf-infused style has paired perfectly with many of the jobs he’s been hired for over the last few years; painting at festivals like Levitate, creating murals for businesses, and, most recently creating an DIY art installation using beach towels. Butler first unveiled the program in Miami earlier this summer and is getting ready for another round on Aug. 24 in Wellfleet, Mass., in conjunction with Cape Cod’s 51st annual Oldtimers Longboard Classic at White Crest Beach. He’s also asking for help from you!
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Butler told Dashboard he organized the first Beach Towel Art Show in Miami earlier in the summer, as a lightly tongue-n-cheek invitation to participate in Miami’s global art week. During a week marked by exclusivity and high price tags, Bulter said he wanted to create something more accessible. Now, he’s asking the public on Cape Cod to help out at the Aug. 25 event.
Anyone can join in, he said, and ideally, the towels are made in advance.
“I personally love when artists abandon the rectangle format, and create unique shapes,” he said. “It’s cool to see the different avenues people take to customize their towel. Sewing, painting, quilting, and collage are all wonderful paths for making something custom for the beach.”
Using print-on-demand websites is the most common avenue, he said, but they usually take two weeks to arrive and cost around $40-$50.
Photo by Monica Mcgivern
In the end, more than 60 people prepared towels in Miami, bringing them to the event from all over the world. Artists of all ages and backgrounds came together to share their towels, Butler said. Some stand-outs included Vida Sophia’s “Culo Towel” which featured a sewn-in pillow shaped like a booty and another fan-favorite by Kelly Breeze, who created a towel shaped like a martini glass.
Photo by Monica McGivern
“Our response was to hold a renegade towel show, on the sands of beautiful South Beach. Different creative groups from across the city united to promote an open-call, whereby anyone could make a beach towel to share in the sand,” he told Dashboard. “We kept things incredibly casual. No tents or spectacle. Just towels and a gathering of creative people excited to share their creations.”
Photo by Monica McGivern
“Print, sew, paint, stitch, dye or just dress up as a beach towel. All are welcome to come and showcase their creations,” Butler said. “Cape Cod and the surrounding area has such a wonderfully creative community, the decision to attempt the towel show here felt natural. We’re so fortunate to have the support of Oldtimers. Each year they commission a new artist to develop an event poster and shirt graphic. It’s so cool they have used art as the beacon to rally their surf community. ”
Photo by Monica McGivern
The best vantage point to view the towels is from above, Butler said, and in Miami, they used drones. At White Crest on Aug. 25, spectators will be able to watch the competition from the cliff above.
Photo by Monica McGivern
