THE STRANGE AND CIRCUITOUS JOURNEY OF THE BOY WHO WOULD BE KING

Jun 8, 2010 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

Click on link below to read with illustrations:
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or read here:

STATUS HAT PRODUCTIONS

FOR OUR MAY ’10 ARTSZINE: PLACE

THE STRANGE AND CIRCUITOUS JOURNEY OF

THE BOY WHO WOULD BE KING

by Barbara J. Lloyd

In his embryonic state, the Boy began as a collection of found objects: old silver goblet, ceramic head reject, odd-lot creamer, vintage soda cap, broken jewelry. Sculpy clay was the facilitator that brought the disparate pieces together and, after baking in the oven, the Boy emerged whole and ready to be king whenever the call came. (Figure 1)

I fell in love with my strange new sculptural assemblage. The Boy Who Would Be King may have been small but he had a very large personality. He continued to enchant visitors until the vacuum cleaner incident. With a careless sweep of the suction head, his pedestal wobbled and, like Humpty Dumpty, he took a great fall.

I repaired him but he was never going to be the same. But I had become very fond of him and didn’t want this to be a premature ending for a character that had shown so much promise. So I digitally photographed him and, using a PhotoShop feature, I altered the image by painting on it and brought him back to life.

In his new life, he existed as an original within my computer. I began to try out all the PhotoShop tools on him and selected the “poster” filter, added new coloring and lighting, then finished the piece with manual drawing using my computer mouse. This version brought out the Boy’s querulous, pouty side. Hands on hips, he looked mightily miffed but, at what, he wasn’t sure.

I was quite happy with this new digital fine art print, but I knew more could be done to fulfill the Boy’s potential. With acrylic paint on gallery-wrapped canvas, he became even more brilliant, more obsessed with self-importance. I used a kind of baroque styling on his costume and crown. In a nod to the original assemblage, I attached a soda cap, sea shell, stars and a bit of old earring to enhance his festive look. Now this was a Boy with attitude, and he knew exactly what he wanted!

I decided to create a series of paintings based on the life of this character. The second in this series has the Boy Who Would Be King putting his wooden soldiers through their paces. One has definitely fallen down on the job – and he is not pleased.

So he struts about, practicing his royal demeanor, preparing himself to sit on the throne. He is always ready to take over his father’s kingly duties if called upon (and always wondering how long he must wait).

From a box of found objects came an assemblage which, in turn, was the inspiration for a digital fine art piece that blossomed into an acrylic painting and a series. So the moral of this story has to be: if you discover a character, place, shape or texture that takes hold of you, just go with the flow – the journey will be worth it!

About Barbara J. Lloyd

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May 28, 2010 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

Never let anything – even a bad upbringing – stop your creative juices! Click on this link, then on Featured Artist BJ Lloyd at right

http://www.artsyshark.com

or read article below!

Artsy Shark

A Site for Emerging Artists

Featured Artist Barbara J. Lloyd

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In the middle of a circular garden in our yard was an old discarded sink, masquerading as a birdbath. There were no flowers in this garden, just hardscrabble soil and decaying leaves. Our rented house was relentlessly ugly, and my father liked to say you could get just as clean in an ugly bathroom as you could in a beautiful one. He once made me return a rose I had stolen from someone else’s garden. This is where I began.

My family members were not artists and art lovers, but people who had trained themselves not to recognize the difference between beauty and the lack of it, because the financial and psychological costs were too great. My addiction to art germinated in this unfriendly soil and its green tendrils pushed through the rocky dirt to suck in the sunshine. My being an artist today is a direct response to the family belief that beauty is unnecessary and artistic passion an option only for those with means and nothing else to do.

As I got older, art was the only thing that seemed to give me an identity of my own. Somehow I got my hands on a set of pastels and started doing portraits. It made me feel good about myself. When I won a couple of art contests, I knew this was what I wanted to do. After I graduated from Kean University of NJ with a BA in Fine Arts, I taught art for a year, did a series of album/CD art, and then realized this was not going to pay the bills. So, for virtually my entire professional life, I was an ad/promotional copywriter, and had my own PR agency for many years.

I loved copywriting and public relations – it was like painting with words and fulfilled that need in me to create something. But one day the joy in my work seemed to vanish overnight and I felt like I was going to explode. Unfortunately, though, over the years I had developed “blank canvas syndrome”. Fear of a blank canvas is paralyzing; you want to lift the brush to the canvas and you just can’t. I never thought I’d overcome it so I started by collecting found objects and creating one-of-a-kind jewelry and assemblages with them. Then I moved toward collages on canvas, then mixed media collages with acrylic paint. The first time I was able to paint without any of my “safety nets”, the result was like the geyser going off at Yellowstone National Park.

At that point, I became obsessed with so many different types of artistic expression that I couldn’t concentrate on any one of them. After about a year of this turmoil, I closed my PR business and whittled the art forms down to Acrylic Painting, Mixed Media/Collage and Digital Fine Art Photography.

Inspirations for paintings include interesting characters with strong facial expressions. Sometimes, an image I’ve photographed “haunts” me so that I have to paint it or incorporate it into whatever I’m doing at the moment. At other times, I’ll find a new material, or discarded objects that spark an idea and make me want to use them.

I’ve also been working with a new take on “still life” art. In a very “mixed” Mixed Media approach, I take clippings, photos, found objects, textures and more, arrange them and then photograph them, in much the same way as a traditional still life. Then I paint and draw on them within a program such as PhotoShop and Microsoft Picture It. I add effects, create textures, change colors until I’m happy with the result. Sometimes I’ll print the resulting image on heavy paper and continue to paint with acrylics and add collage bits. Some of them never stop changing!

My character, The Boy Who Would Be King, originated with a small assemblage I did, using found objects. I loved it, but the piece was so delicate, it kept getting damaged. I didn’t want to lose it so I photographed and then imported it to a computer file, then digitally drew and painted it, and created a digital art print of it. Next I painted it in acrylics on canvas. I’m quite attached to this figure now and have begun to do an entire series around it.

On Art Deco Weekend in South Beach (FL), I photographed a charming stilt walker entertaining the crowds on Ocean Drive. Luckily, the photo captured her saucy look, confidence and long striped torso. It “demanded” to be painted and so I did.

A Glance From The Catwalk was the first in a series of works I’m doing showcasing a strong female image. These are women with attitude. They are not famous or wealthy, but they are secure in their ability to survive and even flourish, like blooms that grow from rocky soil.

B.J. Lloyd lives in Danbury, CT and South Beach, FL. She is a member of the Housatonic Valley Cultural Alliance in CT. Visit her website at WWW.BJLloyd.MosaicGlobe.com; contact her at catbirdcom@msn.com

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Circumnavigating the Art World: Part Two

Jan 23, 2010 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

(Continued from yesterday, Part One)

Give yourself an art show every couple of years. No one can understand and sell your artwork like you can:

* Hold a show in a rented storefront, in a furniture store (in conjunction with the owner), in your own place or a friend’s loft. Some restaurants can work but make sure they aren’t just looking for art as their wall decor.

Digital Photography/Art

* Send invitations by email or snail-mail, post it on craigslist, Facebook, Twitter, your blog, a friend’s blog, etc.

* Send press releases to local newspapers, newsletters and other publications. Remember that actual publications (rather than ezines) require 2-3 months lead time to publish your news.

* Serve wine, juice, sparkling water and finger food (nothing that requires utensils).

* Have your art made into greeting cards for those attendees who can’t buy your art but can afford a card. That will make them feel better and maybe they’ll show up at your next show ready to take one of your artworks home with them!

Please visit my website at www.BJLloyd.MosaicGlobe.com and/or contact me at catbirdcom@msn.com.

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Just Starting to Circumnavigate the Art World?: Part One

Jan 21, 2010 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

It’s a very different world today from the one in which I first studied art. New technologies, particularly the Internet, have changed the way we live. Technophobes will lose an important tool in the promotion of their art if they refuse to use these new technologies. Create a website, get a Facebook page, do Twitter, write a blog, write articles, try everything. Like it or not, it’s the way we live now.

Here are a few tips I picked up along the way:

Don’t be afraid to experiment with different material, subjects and tools. An artist I know said he’d painted an entire canvas with a spatula. So I did a painting using a large palette knife and a paint-frozen brush headed for the trash.

Look for places other than galleries to show your artwork. Many artists feel this might demean their work but the point is to become known, have your art techniques recognized and, hopefully, loved by as many people as possible.

Donate your art to be auctioned for a good cause. Yes, I know, everyone wants free artwork from artists who may be less well-heeled than them. But many charity events attract people who can appreciate and afford art. Your bio and contact information on or near your art could result in interest and future sales. And, you will be helping out the good cause (don’t forget Haiti).

Join an art association and volunteer for a committee. That way you’ll get to know the members instead of just showing up to hang your art at members’ art show.

Give your business card to everyone (you do have a card, right?) because you never know when they’ll decide to call you or who they may pass it onto.

And, Finally…to be continued tomorrow.

Please visit my website at www.BJLloyd.MosaicGlobe.com and/or contact me at catbirdcom@msn.com.

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Article in CT Creative

Jan 7, 2010 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

Hello again! The following is an article/interview published in CT Creative:

Barbara J. Lloyd

Written by Kelly Nolen in Art, Featured Articles on Sep 12th, 2009

For Connecticut artist Barbara .J. Lloyd, creating art is a somewhat therapeutic experience that allows her to connect with her inner self. In her artist’s statement she explains, “Art opens a window into my subconscious. My challenge is to capture the elusive bits I find there and allow them to tell a story.” One of her first challenges as an artist was receiving an art education, and finding her creative voice. Without any exposure to the arts as a child, she acquired a set of pastels on her own and thus began her life as an artist.

Lloyd went on to attend Kean University and graduated with a degree in Fine Arts. After graduation she began teaching and created a series of album/CD art. When she realized teaching wasn’t her calling, she turned her other passion of Copy Writing and Public Relations into a career, by creating her own Public Relations Agency. In this position she still felt creatively satisfied, “…it was like painting with words”, she explains, “and fulfilled that need in me to create something.”

After running her PR Company for a number of years, she turned her focus exclusively to the creation of art. The mediums she primarily uses are Acrylics, Mixed Media, Collage, Assemblages, as well as Digital Art and Photography.

Now residing in Danbury, CT and working as a full-time artist, Lloyd finds inspiration in the ordinary, mundane and elusive. For her, these concepts “…strike a chord in my subconscious and stubbornly stick there until I pry them out with paint, a camera or another tool.” For example, she once used the imagery of debris she viewed from a minor auto accident to create one of her pieces.

B.J. Lloyd’s work has been exhibited in parts of New England, Ohio, Florida, California and even the United Kingdom. Her artwork is available to a number of professional needs including those of art collectors and galleries, publishers and designers. Along the way she has garnered a number of awards and honors such as four “Special Recognition” Awards from Upstream People Gallery Juried Exhibitions and received second place in the Art Buzz Graphics Competition.

However, for Lloyd, true success is not measured by awards, honors or fame. It is measured in what the viewer gains from observing a piece of art. As she explains in her artist’s statement, “If my art engages the viewer in satisfying dialogue, I consider it a success.”
Website: www.BJLloyd.MosaicGlobe.com

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To Be Or Not To Be In Multiple Galleries

Dec 12, 2009 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

I think being in multiple galleries is probably necessary for emerging and mid-career artists. Different galleries attract different art collectors. My work would probably not appeal to someone who loves photo-realistic artworks. So you need to research the kind of art that a particular gallery exhibits to see if it’s a good match. Sometimes you just need to hang your art in certain places and see what happens.

I’ve found galleries on craigslist, artists deadlines, through art associations, and friends’ suggestions. These led to exhibitions in Florida, New York City, Brooklyn, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Ohio, California, even Cambridgeshire in the UK. Doing this involves lots of communication by phone, email, etc. also packing and shipping your artwork very carefully, in containers that can be used to return art that is not sold. While it’s much easier dealing with galleries close to home, it’s hard to pass up other opportunities further away. So go ahead, take a chance!

There is a secret garden we all retreat to, either in our back yard or in our mind.

The bemused dog finds himself in the middle of a Fellini movie.

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Painting With Sound, With Words and, Yes, With Paint

Dec 8, 2009 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

Last night at a bell-ringing concert I attended, my good friend, Steve Lilienthal, wowed us all as he played bells (from tiny ones up to 8-pounders), directed the ringers masterfully and then accompanied them on an organ. The result was like a burst of colors, textures, overlays. Sometimes the bells would tinkle in a blue-green watercolor way, then the percussion of the big bells would slather half a tube of crimson across the musical canvas. The rhythmically “thudding” bell sounds were like a huge brush that stippled texture throughout.

He was painting an aural world as surely as I create my visual fantasies with acrylics. When I earned my keep as a writer, the words were my pigments. Arrange them one way and they sing with excitement and hope; shuffle them up with cobalt and velvet black words and the atmosphere of the narrative can become distinctly dark and ominous.

Creation is a hard taskmaster, but we are all given a myriad of tools related to sight, sound, touch and taste (let’s not forget all those Julia Childs out there!) so we can communicate with, and reveal our inner selves to others who may share with us not only this planet but also the same thoughts and emotions.

Pierrot marionette waits patiently for his puppet master to pull the strings.

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What Gift Will You Give? What Will You Receive?

Dec 3, 2009 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

The ripe colors and rich flavors of Provence saturate this late-summer image.

She strides confidently down the runway, pausing to cast a saucy glance at front-row fashionistas.

Gifting. Re-gifting. Re-gifting to someone who gave you the gift in the first place. Most people want to give a meaningful gift, yet they don’t have the time or a great idea.

Artworks – Painting, Collage, Mixed Media, Fine Art Photography – can fill the eye and feed the soul. They can conjure up memories people thought they had forgotten. They can bring back the warmth of the holidays in the midst of a February snowstorm.

While this suggestion may appear self-serving (and I guess it is, in a way), I actually do believe the gift of art is the one that keeps giving when all the ties, sweaters & socks have been sent to Good Will.

So, do me (and probably youself) a favor. Please go to www.BJLloyd.MosaicGlobe.com and/or visit The Holiday Art Exhibition at the new Home Interiors (270 Federal Rd., Brookfield Square, Brookfield, CT 06804, next to Bassett Furniture) where art and photography by yours truly is on view and available for holiday giving until Dec. 21. Find out, first-hand, how a signed original goes over with loved ones this season.

While I’d love you to choose one of my creations, the artist you select is a very personal choice. It must speak to you, as well as the person being gifted. Start a conversation today!

(If you need suggestions, email me at catbirdcom@msn.com)

Make sure you have a memorable holiday!

Cheers,

BJL

Time ticks on as she waits - we are all waiting for something.

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City Hall Gets Art!

Jul 16, 2009 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

A Glance From The Catwalk

I’m Having.….
An Artist Reception at The Danbury City Hall Art Gallery (3rd Floor)
When: Thursday, August 6th, 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Where: City Hall Art Gallery, 3rd Floor, 155 Deerhill Ave., Danbury, CT 06810
What: Artwork, Wine, Appetizers & Music
Who: Danbury resident, Barbara J. Lloyd, full-time working artist who creates in Mixed Media, Acrylics, Collage, &
Digital Art/Photography
Why: To enjoy yourself! Good conversation, new artwork,
wine, music & more. This Solo Art Show will run from July 15 to August 27, 2009
To preview artwork, go to: www.BJLloyd.MosaicGlobe.com
Art collectors/lovers, interior designers, house stagers, architects, art publishers, home builders, etc. – You’re invited!
catbirdcom@msn.com

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New Art Representation(Yay!)

Jun 18, 2009 catbirdcom@msn.com | Uncategorized

The Boy Who Would Be King

After a two-hour phone interview with Tony at the Mac Worthington Contemporary Art Gallery in Columbus, Ohio, I signed on the dotted line and am now represented by this great gallery. Not being familiar with Columbus, I asked my friend Tom Grogan, a former resident of the city, about North Short St., the gallery’s location. According to Tom, it’s a bustling hub of art and culture, a terrific place to be. (Reps for BJL also include Michael Joseph Gallery in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and Ovenden Contemporary in Cambridgeshire, UK.) So all of you in Columbus or those just passing through, stop in and say Hi to Tony and Mac!

Here’s a new painting which will go on a post card.

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