Gerald Boyd is a representational artist who works in a variety of media including oil, pastel and watercolor. He was born in a small Ohio town in 1942 but migrated with his parents to the West Coast at the end of WWII. Raised in Oregon and Southern California, he and his family lived in Fremont, California for over 30 years. In 2002, and nearing retirement, Gerald and his wife Sandra moved to a home in the little town of Galt, in the Central Valley of California. He built a new studio in 2003, retired from the outdoor advertising industry, and is devoting more time to his painting. "Creating art has been an interest of mine since early childhood. Among my artistic heroes have been the early illustrators such as N.C. Wyeth, Norman Rockwell, J.C.Leyendecker, Andrew Loomis, and so many, many more. Later, I came to admire the work of John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla and Anders Zorn.
What all of these artists had in common was an amazing facility with composition and the human figure. Although I've explored a wide variety of subject matter, my paintings seem to inevitably come back to the human experience. I enjoy doing portraits, figures, and character studies and I find that even a landscape seems more alive if there are people within the composition. I won my first major art award at the age of 14 with a pencil portrait of my grandfather. That initial recognition would encourage me and spark my interest to pursue a career in art."
My Grandfather
1956

After graduating from high school in Southern California, Gerald was hired as an apprentice pictorial artist at Foster and Kleiser Outdoor Advertising Company in Los Angeles. He would spend the next five years studying at night with a prominent artist and teacher, Theodore Lukits (1897-1992). After becoming a journeyman in his trade, Gerald moved with his wife Sandi and children, to Santa Cruz, California where he attended Bethany Bible College for one year. During that year (1969), in addition to his studies, he was able to paint on a regular basis and supplement his income by selling paintings in a local gift shop. He resumed his career in commercial art in 1970. Gerald is among the last of several generations of artists who made their living painting giant outdoor advertisements until technology rendered that craft virtually extinct. During the decades of the 1960’s and '70's Gerald was busy working and raising a family, but he painted when he could. By the early 1980’s, however, he decided it was time to get more serious about his art career and so he became involved in art organizations and started entering paintings in competitive exhibitions. It was a good way to become connected to the art community and also to strenghten his skills.

Gerald served two terms as President of the Fremont Art Association and, along the way, twice won "Artist of the Year" honors. His show entries soon became consistent award winners and he has had a high ratio of awards won to shows entered ever since, including many First Place and several Best of Shows. Since 1983 he has demonstrated painting technique, especially portraiture, to art clubs in Northern California and has given close to 100 such performances to date. On occasion, he has taught drawing and painting in classes and workshops. His considerable experience has put him in demand as a juror for art competitions including twice for the Society of Western Artists Annual Exhibition, the 2000 Motherlode International Art Exhibition, The Contra Costa County Fair, Fresno and San Joaquin County Fairs and four times for the Alameda County Fair.

Being an accomplished artist does not prevent him from continuing his own study by taking classes and workshops with such nationally known artists as Bob Gerbracht, Margaret Kessler, and Daniel Green. "As every artist knows, study is an on-going, life-long process." He has been honored with "Signature Memberships" in both the Society of Western Artists and the Pastel Society of the West Coast. His paintings are in private collections throughout the United States.