Though you may not realize it, if you have driven around Butler, you have seen artist Tom Panei's work.

From the “Welcome to Butler” sign at the bridge leading into the city to the art covering the walls in The Brick House on Main Street, Panei's work is very recognizable.

“The Brick House one has been huge. That's when I started doing the same style, it's because of The Brick House,” Panei said.

Panei's works are abstract, consisting of pastels on wood panels.

His art pieces come in many sizes. For the completion that he is currently entered in, he has submitted six 4-foot-by-8-foot panels that will make a mural.

For the second year, Panei is in Grand Rapids, Mich., competing in ArtPrize, billed as the largest art competition in the world.

“Last year was a learning experience,” Panei said. “The way ArtPrize works, is that the person entering into the competition needs to first get accepted, then get a venue to accept them.”

“You have to get picked up by a venue, when you don't know anybody, and you don't know the area it's tough,” said Panei.

Last year he entered because of another local artist, Bill Secunda.

Panei said, “Bill was a big influence, he was like the bigger the better.”

Last year Panei entered one 4-foot-by-8-foot panel. This year he has the six panels, four of which were completed before he arrived in Grand Rapids.

He is completing the other two panels at the competition as performance art, something he does often at The Brick House or other locations. The venue that will house Panei's work in Grand Rapids is the B.O.B. Restaurant.

“They will close the parking lot down and have bands,” Panei said.

Secunda is not attending ArtPrize this year, due to new rules that say artists who finished in the top 10 the previous year will have to skip a year before they can compete again.

Panei said, “It would be like the Super Bowl, if the Steelers won one year they wouldn't be able to play the next year.”

The new rule was instituted to give new artists a crack at the top prizes.

According to ArtPrize's website, there are many ways to win. The top prizes will consist of $360,000 awarded according to public vote.

There is also another vote in which a team of art experts will vote on the top 10 pieces of art. The person who gets the vote from the experts will win $200,000.

ArtPrize has 1,517 entries this year. The event began Sept. 19 and runs until Oct. 7.

Panei enjoys the competition and meeting the different artists and people who are in attendance during ArtPrize.

His father, Vince Panei, is the reason Tom adapted his work to wood.

“I was building a cabinet in my house, and I bought this expensive oak paneling, it cost me $85. I went to use it one day and it wasn't in my garage,” Vince Panei said. “I asked my wife where my paneling was, and she said 'Well, Tom has it.'”

Vince Panei still used that piece of wood to build his cabinets, and now has his son's original piece of artwork in his home. Vince Panei builds all of the wooden frames for his son.

“I don't have the time to make the frames, or the know-how, I'd chop my fingers off,” Tom Panei said.