About Anafair

Anafair was born and raised in South Texas.  She is the oldest of the two daughters and one son born to her parents, Edwin & Penney Brown of Brown Ranch in Beeville.  She married Dennis Butts and they together, raised three children of their own, again two daughters and one son. Their children have given them nine wonderful grandchildren.

Anafair graduated from AC Jones High School in Beeville and also attended Mary-Hardin Baylor College in Belton, Texas where she studied art and mathematics.  She began studying art with Simon Michael, one of the foremost artists in Texas, in Beeville in 1969 at Bee County College; now know as Coastal Bend College. While there, she also studied computer science. Anafair continued her studies with Simon Michael in Rockport for many years after he retired from teaching at the college.

While she has painted a variety of subjects, the majority of her more recent paintings are portraits.  She uses oils exclusively, most often in a realistic manner that shows the influence of the Impressionists. She also paints in a style she likes to refer to as Mosaic Impressionism.  Anafair usually paints from photographs taken specifically for use in creating her paintings.  Her works sell from the upper hundreds to several thousand dollars depending on the size and the number of subjects in a painting.

Her most recent work is the fifth in a series of paintings used by the Singing Men of South Texas (SMOST) as the artwork for their CD covers.  “Order My Steps, Lord” is a painting depicting a young man seeking the guidance of the Lord as he prepares to lead in worship.  Charles Lyons, son of SMOST Director Tommy Lyons, modeled for the photographs taken for use in creating this painting.

Her artistic abilities extend beyond her paintings to include needlepoint, crochet, cross stitch, china painting, quilt making, tatting, and many other craft-type projects.  While her health has begun to slow her down a bit, she still enjoys the challenge of creating portraits that communicate her subjects’ spirit and life.  She continues to give God the glory for the many blessings in her life and for allowing her to pursue her passion for painting.