“ I think I have more paintings around the square than I ever have,” he said.
“ Cheeky” was also included in the Moultrie Service League sponsored coffee table book,“ Moultrie Masterpieces: A Local Art Collection.” The 276-page book is comprised of more than 80 local artists.
“ It’ s a wonderfully illustrated and high-quality, well-written book full of local artists and craftsmen,” the artist posted on his Facebook page.
Greg has also forged a successful relationship with the Grand Bohemian Hotel and his paintings in their gallery are part of the permanent Kessler Collection, a collection which includes both internationally and locally renown artists.
“ They recognize me as a relevant artist in that market,” he said.
When he put his first paintings in the hotel’ s gallery, he was surprised when he got a call telling him that one of his paintings had been sold within the first hour of them being up. The successful partnership with the gallery has continued, he said, because he was the first artist of the new year to sell a painting at the hotel in 2017.
When his paintings first started selling, Greg said he was worried that people were just buying them because they knew him and not on the merit of his artwork. However, as people across the United States have viewed his works on his website( www. gregbyrdfineart. com) and purchased them, he said he feels validated as an artist.
“ Be original. Inspiration is everywhere,” is his advice to young, aspiring artists.
He also said, when an artist recently reached out to him, he told him,“ The most important thing is to be prepared and have a collection ready to go. So, paint for yourself and build your collection. You don’ t have to be selling paintings as you paint. So, don’ t be discouraged. Just be prepared and have a collection.”
Adding to his accomplishments, in 2020, the artist signed a contract with Coach to paint his artwork on its Spring-Summer Ready to Wear collection of handbags. It was part of a fourday event at the Coach store in the Millenia Mall in Orlando.
“ Coach is the biggest luxury brand in the world,” he said.
He said Coach approached him with the opportunity because a woman from Coach happened to see one of his paintings. He said his relationship with them has continued and he was still in their stable of collaborating artists for store customization events.
“ I look forward to seeing what events corporate puts together for their 2026 campaigns,” he said.“ The in-store artist events are always amazing! Coach has a wonderful marketing team and they are always so creative.”
Greg said he believes in giving back to the community that he and his wife were raised in. Whenever someone asks, he’ s been more than happy to donate paintings for benefit auctions. After all, he and Cindy’ s first job was decorating the side of a carwash in Moultrie, he told me.
TOP: The artist, Greg Byrd, makes a decision between three of his large works as to which would serve as the prominent painting in the exhibition space. Photo by Adelia Ladson
ABOVE: In 2020, Greg signed a contract with Coach to paint his artwork on its Spring-Summer Readyto-Wear collection of handbags. His relationship with them has continued and he is in their stable of collaborating artists for store customization events.
SEPTEMBER 2025 MoultrieScene 37