David Boyd Jr - Plein Air Set

It has taken me 10 years of painting to discover why I do what I do, and why I am drawn so strongly to the imagery I represent.

I grew up in a small town outside of Atlanta, at a time when the suburbs of Atlanta were still “out in the country.” I was fortunate to spend many weekends with my grandparents in rural Georgia, where the woods and old rusty cars and tractors were my playground. Today, when I see the rusting memorabilia of the rural south, I feel a deep sense of nostalgia.

This imagery is inspiration for my creative expression, although it actually originates from a time in which I never actually lived: A time when working the land was part of our daily survival, and the automobile was both a new modern convenience and an exciting new art form. Remnants of this life are rapidly becoming extinct, as it is only a matter of time before those rusty cars are completely disintegrated back into the earth. As a nod to my childhood memories as well as the passing of time, I want to preserve Southern American life in its current state of decay... “landscapes of rust.”

I use my plein air work as a way to “capture a feeling.” I use my camera to record a moment. Back in my studio I like to combine these into large scale paintings of those things I wish I could keep forever... old signs, decaying building, old cars, trucks and tractors and beautiful rural landscapes. My paintings are my memories and accordingly, some of my paintings take the angle of a child’s viewpoint; lower to the ground.