Byrd installs his exhibit,“ Angels & Muses,” at Bentley’ s Restaurant, the night before the show’ s opening. He meticulously chose each piece to create a cohesive showing of his work, hanging and taking down paintings as the exhibit took shape. Photo by Adelia Ladson
“ It’ s the essence of femininity. It’ s a fantasy. It fits every female. It’ s the female’ s shape and form. It’ s every woman,” he said, when asked the question“ where did the silhouette come from? Is it your wife’ s bottom?” A question, he gets frequently. He takes the subject of his painting and brings to life his perception of who she is, he said.
When Byrd receives a commission, he said, the first thing he does is go to the woman’ s Facebook page and look at her pictures. He wants to see what she does for a living, what she’ s interested in and what she wears.
“ People don’ t realize how much of a personality a person puts out by what they wear,” he said.
The next thing he does is interview them over the phone with just a few basic questions.
As far as how he works creatively, Greg told me that he builds the“ Cheeky” painting by using a combination of techniques in mixed media. He said he doesn’ t believe just paint would tell the whole story. He starts by drawing first and then he paints and uses other materials including stencils, which he makes each time.
During past showings of his artwork in Moultrie, a significant number of local people turned up to show their support and some out-of-town guests, as well.
The high energy events reflected the energetic personality of the artist, who kept each of them going at a fast and furious pace, bouncing from group to group welcoming all like old friends. There’ s an overall feeling of playfulness in the environment as people admire the“ Cheekies.”
One of the things to do, each time, is to have your photo taken on the“ red carpet.” Every one of Greg’ s shows has a red carpet, which is another fun way to connect with him and other guests.
His last showing in Moultrie was a pop-up show in May at Doughboy’ s Downtown.
“ I’ m currently working with a group of artists, here in Winter Park, Florida, that is looking to plan a pop-up show this winter when the weather is always so nice,” he told me when I asked about plans for his next show.
His list of commissions is ever growing and several people in Colquitt County own one or more of his paintings.
36 MoultrieScene SEPTEMBER 2025