Artist, teacher Lloyd Fitzgerald
 |
Lloyd Fitzgerald at work, using a very fine brush to perfect the line of a birch tree.
|
Lloyd Fitzgerald, now of Woodstock, hails from the Miramichi. Self-taught, his work is represented in important public and private collections in North America, Europe and Asia. But he is an unassuming man who happily shares his experience and know-how by offering informal weekly painting classes in Fredericton and at the O’Toole Gallery in Grafton. (Call 506-328-6572 for details.)
Let’s open with the standard “how did you get started” question…
Neither of my parents nor any of my siblings were artistic. But I think my mother probably encouraged my early drawing, then my sister got me a watercolour set ─ one of those in the little tin box ─ when I was eight years old and later an aunt gave me a book about art.
So you got started when you were just a boy?
Ironically, it was the U.S. Army that actually helped me get to a higher level. In 1962, when I was working in New Hampshire, I got drafted and then stationed in Germany. They had all kinds of facilities and art materials on the base ─ canvasses, brushes, paints, anything I wanted ─ so I spent all my free time practicing and figuring things out. I felt like I had dropped down the rabbit hole and discovered Wonderland.
 |
Perhaps best known for his landscapes,
Fitzgerald is also quite at ease with
portraits as this image of a young woman demonstrates. |
After I came back to Canada in 1965, I worked in the forestry sector for four or five years and painted on the side. I got interested in painting birds and studied the work of the great James Fenwick Lansdowne. In my opinion, he outranked all other nature painters, even Audubon, and he lived out west so I submitted some of my work and he gave me some great tips. At some other point, I sent a few pieces to Alex Colville [the recently deceased realist artist] who put me in touch with the Dominion Gallery in Montreal. Luckily, the Gallery owner, Max Stern who represented me for 25 years, had some great contacts and he got me into some important shows like the Dallas Art Fair.
Looking at some of your recent work, it seems that it is darker, more of a mood.
Perhaps it is. Now, rather than just doing a literal rendering, I’m much more interested in how a subject or a scene makes me feel. I’ve even delved into abstract art.
Any advice for beginners?
Practice your technical skills and be willing to experiment constantly. In fact, Alex Colville, who used abstract concepts in his work, told me once that he thought the self-taught were fortunate because sometimes a formal art education can lock you into a certain style.
Painting is just like playing a musical instrument.
You need to practice every day.
And I still do, even after all these years.
 |
This detail from a painting of waterlilies, currently on display at the O’Toole Gallery, demonstrates just how much colour goes into creating a convincing still life that may appear almost monotone from a distance.
|
- See more work from Lloyd Fitzgerald on YouTube.