Carbon Punishment

Brian Butler is a Miami based illustrator, designer, and muralist. He graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA after completing an eighty-four stop tour of every miniature golf course in Massachusetts. Before moving to Miami, he held production roles with a touring college campaign for Microsoft and with Cut&Paste, a global design tournament focused on showcasing emerging designers' process in front of a live audience.

In Miami, he fell into a design position at CP+B for several years before pursuing a freelance career as The Upper Hand Art, Inc. Somehow, amidst these positions, Brian has built a reputable career in murals, design, and illustration and has collaborated with brands such as Vice, Target, Tumblr, Red Bull, Converse, Superfly, Madison House, The Miami Heat, and Pabst Blue Ribbon.

Music is central to his identity, and as a non-musician, he has been fortunate to contribute back through his art. Besides creating a mountain of merchandise, album art, and promotional material for labels and musicians, he’s also drawn over 2000 live performances while standing in the audience. He’s deemed this act of drawing shows “Show Drawn,” which has brought him throughout the country and even out to sea. He has illustrated SXSW, Bonnaroo, Clusterfest, Governors Ball, Pickathon, Form Arcosanti, Project Pabst, Riot Fest, Ultra, the late Motorhead Motorboat, and many stand-alone shows.

As a curator, he’s organized group exhibitions on the topic of both Ice Cream People and Flags, respectively, and spearheaded an independent publication called The Miami Palmist, meant to position local musicians as guides to South Florida. Behind the scenes, he’s consulted and organized numerous artist-driven activations for brands and agencies.