Artist Profile: Laura Lloyd

"Blue Morning"

Says local artist Laura Lloyd, who took home first prize in the St. Louis Artists’ Guild Collector’s Choice show on May 14th for her painting “Islander,” of her flair for portraiture, “Since the age of 4 or 5, I have been fascinated with how people look. While my family was watching television for entertainment or news, I was sitting in the floor studying the faces.” Clearly, the studies paid off. Lloyd’s paintings, which sometimes border on the photorealistic, show an unusual and extremely nuanced understanding of not only facial structure, but the way her models emote, express, the tiny contortions and animations that not only make us who we are, but show the world how we feel.

Lloyd’s artistic career has taken something of an interesting track. Growing up in a small farming community in Wisconsin – certainly a midwesterner at heart – Lloyd’s parents pushed her towards a commercial art degree. “I always wanted to go into fine arts,” says Lloyd of her studies, “but my parents thought only a career in commercial arts would be a more viable way to make a living” – certainly a

"Hello, Goodbye"

statement many a young artist can sympathize with. Lloyd, however, did pursue fine arts, following her husband’s job to the big city of St.Louis. And for any out there longing to head to New York or San Francisco, doubting that St. Louis has a thriving art scene, Lloyd will set you straight. “The artistic community here is very diverse,” she says. “I like the wide range of venues available for artists to exhibit their work.”

When asked about her inspirations, Lloyd seems thrilled to reply. “I love to pour over every art book and magazine I can get my hands on,” she gushes. “My favorites range from Odd Nerdrum to Wayne Thiebaud to Helen Frankenthaler. I really love it all, and go back and forth on the different directions I want to pursue.” The influence of each seems obvious, from Nerdrum’s strangely lit countenances to Frankenthaler’s abstract work, which Lloyd often employs for the background of her portraits. A lover of all forms, Lloyd seeks to explore them all herself.

"Moose"

Perhaps why recently, though primarily a painter, Lloyd has also found herself working in sculpture, crafting small ceramic pieces in somewhat bizarre proportions. The focus in these pieces, however, remains on the face, strange though that face may be. Lloyd seems not to deviate from this mold of the portrait – and why should she? She’s mastered it. Though a lover of both media, Lloyd has recently – over the past two years, that is – spent her time exploring her craft with the ceramic figures – sculpture, she says, is “like a new toy.” Another draw of sculpture, says Lloyd, is the ability to work in a fictional setting. Not working from models – as her paintings most often are – eliminates a number of practical problems, including not asking of her daughter, who often serves as her model, to sit for hours on end.

Though they clearly differ in medium and style, however, her sculptural work also differs from her painting in subject. Lloyd’s paintings seem to have a different tone than her ceramic figures, a melancholy, a contemplative quality. And they almost always portray women, which she says is perhaps because she can relate better to them. Lloyd’s sculptures, though weirdly wonderful, reflect this – they don’t seem to have the same sort of thoughtfulness that her paintings of women do. Particularly “Islander,” her first place piece. “Islander” is “about the feeling of isolation,” she says,  “or perhaps an uncertainty in one’s place in the great scheme.” Alone against an abstract background, her figure huddled with her arms around her knees, Lloyd so perfectly depicts exactly what she hopes – a young woman lost, wondering where her place in the world might be.

"Islander," the winning painting

For more on Laura Lloyd, check out her website. Or check out “Islander” in person, here at the SLAG.

Tags: artist profile, laura lloyd, portait