unleashed Boyd’s love of painting and he began
to paint every day. He continued his education
at Full Sail University and received a Bachelor’s
degree in Art and Design, but stuck with paint-
ings instead of becoming a furniture designer
like he originally intended. Since he graduat-
ed, Boyd has returned to Full Sail and teaches
computer animation. “I get to feel creative and
sketch in my downtime.” Boyd adds that hav-
ing a steady job that allows him to be creative
and allows time for him to work on personal
projects is a nice bonus.
Sketching is an important part of the artistic
process for Boyd. Having a very visual mind
and a perfectionist personality, he plans out ev-
ery detail of the painting before the brush hits
the canvas. He uses a combination of sketching
and photo references to plan out the composi-
tion visually. Then he uses Photoshop to plan
out the images’ color and lighting. One of the
most unique elements of Bo yd’s paintings is
his strong use of lighting. “I try to fi nd a refer-
ence with the correct lighting, but that usually
doesn’t happen.” For his painting Madagascar,
which was displayed recently at the Gallery at
Avalon Island, Boyd admitted to struggling with
the light source. Adding an illuminated halo be-
hind the subject of the painting added a chal-
lenging lighting element. By continuing to push
himself as a painter, he not only betters his craft
but also continues to love what he does.
Early on, when Boyd was establishing a name
for himself, he would participate in themed
group shows. While starting out, he was able
to show his paintings across the country, but
he has since moved on to creating work that
inspires him. When Parker began to curate at
Redlight Redlight, Boyd would help him set up
the shows, which often had themes. “When
I discovered my style, I started painting what
I wanted to paint. Artists a lot of times focus
on theme shows, but it takes you out of your
element and you have to focus on what they
want.” Currently, Boyd has been creating a
body of work in anticipation for holding a solo
show.
In his earlier series, To Bee Dead, the artist
explores his childhood fascination with bees
by incorporating them and honeycombs into
each painting in the series. It wasn’t until after
he started the series that Boyd himself realized
this page: To Bee Dead IX, acrylic on canvas
top left: To Bee Dead, acrylic on canvas
top right: Genuine Leather, acrylic on canvas
bottom left: Intellectual Threat, acrylic on canvas
below right: To Bee Dead II, acrylic on canvas
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