Boyd Greene's Art Story
Explore the Depths of Creativity with Artist Boyd Greene

   The Boyd Greene art story started when he was a child growing up on a small rural farm with animals and woods surrounding his little home. The Cloudland Canyon area that fostered his growth as a person continues to inspire him as an artist, so much so that he is going to start a series of paintings to raise money for the area to help preserve the wonderful landscape he has grown to love and adore. This project will coincide with his Cherohala Skyway Project that will benefit the Bald River area with its amazing waterfalls.
 
   As a very young child, he began to draw while being fascinated by his older brother’s art. His brother loved to draw hotrod cars, but Boyd soon grew to love drawing cartoons and animals as he had a deep affection for any animal.

   Having a country boy for a dad that loved the woods, Boyd learned continually about trees and animals while they hiked and fished. From his dad, he gained a great respect for animals and their habitat. His mother passed on her creative streak and love for flowers as they worked on projects together and in her flower beds.

   Boyd Greene, a nature and wildlife artist living in the Cloudland Canyon wilderness area, has begun to impress his clients with the simple realism and poetic rhythm found in his oil paintings. Finding his inspiration in the Appalachian Foothills, Boyd paints using all the training and self-study he has labored vigilantly to acquire to depict the very epitome of beauty found in nature’s domain. Boyd grows more and more fascinated with the majesty of Creation the longer he studies the works of the greatest master of all, his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He searches for beauty in everything and loves things that display lots of unique character.

   Boyd haunts his area traveling both the Cherohala Skyway and Blue Ridge Parkway and exploring both the Smokey Mountains and Cloudland Canyon searching for special moments to capture. He resists the temptation to paint animals he has not been fortunate enough to become familiar with in person. Boyd is dedicated to painting in rhythm which is near impossible without a personal connection with what he paints. Boyd finds great satisfaction in exploring for subjects to capture and equally enjoys painting them as it furthers the relationship he has with his subjects; as he learns more about what makes them special through very close study and observation. He feels as though much goes unnoticed without up-close study to really come to an understanding of an animal or landscape.

   Boyd likes to make very strong drawings planning out the best rhythm for each subject to introduce the subject’s personality to the viewer. He hopes to always tap into an animal’s or scene’s core beauty by understanding it in every way. Often he will take up to 200 photos of a single rose and make numerous studies in graphite to grow familiar with the rose and to find its very best perspective (angle). Then there is the research through his many nature books and the internet for information on a particular subject. Not a perfectionist but one driven to improve each and every time he picks up a brush, Boyd continually grows as an artist.

   Boyd has worked with many techniques through classes taught by wildlife artist John Seerey-Lester, self-study and working three years at Baldwin Art. All this has led to the development of his technique, Creative Realism, which is comprised of strong design, rhythm, atmosphere, beauty and simplicity. 

   Boyd uses only the finest oil paints Blockx and Old Holland; Blockx for their transparency and Old Holland for their amazing pigmentation. His favorite painting technique involves the use of a wood panel that allows him to build thick mounds of paint using his technique “Creative Realism,” a creative form of painting inspired by nature and wildlife that is filled with dramatic soft lighting. He loves to look at the world as creative inspiration and then to express that inspiration in thick impastos known as “chiaroscuro” and transparent shadows. These shadows are made all the more intriguing by his use of amber which creates a translucency that defies your imagination by growing more beautiful as it ages by revealing hidden colors. It is also the finest preservative known and used on fine instruments as a varnish. It is his goal to put his inspiration of the world on the panel in just a few brush strokes leaving an air of beautiful freshness revealed by simple design. He starts with thin coats of paint building up his rhythm until he achieves a steady thought process which leads to thick and quick applying of paint over a detailed pencil sketch. 

   This year he has started painting on linen for clients that prefer a lighter piece of art or just the textured look of paint over linen. His gallery wraps are professionally made with stretcher bars on the larger canvases to resist bowing and the edges are beveled to keep the art from wearing over the years. These may be hung without framing which is a bonus for many that want a simpler modern look or who want to wait about purchasing a frame.

   Boyd uses only the finest gilded and handmade frames for his original oil paintings that are sure to stand out in any collection.
Each of Boyd’s pieces is registered with the Fine Art Registry which is:
• A means of establishing provenance and ownership of art pieces from here on out, invaluable to artists, collectors, museums, galleries, insurance companies and police forces.
• To works of art what the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) system is to cars. It allows artists and owners to positively and uniquely identify a piece of art. 

   Boyd’s artistic career began when he got a job with Baldwin Art, an interior design company that specializes in creating beautifully designed prints and canvases with a twist for clients all over the United States and occasionally a foreign customer. There he worked with other artisans to paint mats and panels to complement the art when framed. There was the occasional painting for a client which was a challenge and a treat that allowed Boyd to stretch himself as an artisan. He also learned much about setting up shows while traveling with the company’s owner, a master designer, to Cadarus in Dallas, Texas, to Michael Boyd Associates in Atlanta, Georgia and to Baldwin Art’s showroom in Highpoint, North Carolina. These were large shows comprising more than 500 pieces of art. Mr. Baldwin impressed upon Boyd how important image is in art. He would put up and take down and move art until it was absolutely hanging where it would get the most notice. He taught Boyd how to mix and match different subjects so as to draw attention to them by creating a flow through a showroom. 

   Mr. Baldwin once gave Boyd what he considers the best advice he has ever had, “Let your art career happen, don’t force it.” From that day forward, Boyd has milled this over in his head daily and it has given him great comfort in knowing that it takes time to establish oneself in the art market and has allowed him to keep busy working on his portfolio which continually grows larger.

   Occasionally Boyd would get time off from work and he would use this time to build up his portfolio often working past midnight. Then in 2007, he started looking to branch off and start Boyd Greene Art finally quitting his job to clear his mind from all the various art techniques he was required to do and set about simplifying his technique. Now in 2008, he is ever striving forward seeking to establish his hold on the nature and wildlife art scene with perhaps a little western themed art thrown in occasionally. He has learned so much over the past year through study and trial and error. Boyd longs to stay active fighting through failures to gain further success. 

   Many are beginning to recognize the fascinating talent Boyd has for reducing a subject to its core personality and beauty. His passionate desire to capture the spirit of his subjects is sure to draw him further acclaim as the word gets out about his finely crafted paintings that cause one to stop and contemplate in awe. You will surely see why he always starts with a subject’s eyes as he believes they hold the key to their personality.

   His art will be shown in many locations in the near future as it is already in the works. As more collectors take notice of the art Boyd Greene crafts, he hopes to raise money for conservation efforts and the betterment of the people in the communities. He is highly interested in causes that benefit man, wildlife and the splendid scenery so many have come to enjoy in a positive way. He hopes many will come to see their yards and neighborhoods as habitat for wildlife often forgotten and pushed aside in urban sprawl. 

   To learn more about fine artist Boyd Greene and to keep up to date with new happenings join his monthly email newsletter, subscribe to his blog’s RSS, and his art’s RSS so you will be informed whenever something new happens without your having to worry about looking every week and possibly missing out on an opportunity.

   Boyd says, “Thank you for stopping by for a browse and please feel free to contact me with any questions as I stand ready to be of help to you at phone number 423-505-0805 or by email.”