Today we’d like to introduce you to Lorrie Boydston.
Hi Lorrie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My story begins in the suburban northland area of Kansas City, MO where I grew up. I took an interest in art at a very young age with drawing and painting being my strongest areas in school. Once I got to high school I couldn’t imagine doing anything else and loved the studio art atmosphere so much that I decided to pursue a career in art. Coming from a working class family, the choice to be a professional artist was a “crazy, impractical” idea in the eyes of my parents, but off I went and I never looked back.
A degree in art education provided me with a modest means to make a living while pursuing my own artistic practice. After spending several years teaching art, plus two children later, I was seeking a way to expand my horizons and focus on my own artistic practice, so I began a Master’s degree program in painting at UMKC. I was able to develop a body of work during this time that brought me “home” to the very same sububan area that I had lived as a child and eventually raised my own children within. My personal search for meaning and identity within the space of suburban life became the basis for my current body of work.
At first, I had a strong interested in doing figurative and narrative work, mostly women and children, within the suburban space. I took hundreds of photos to use as references for paintings and digital media projects for my graduate thesis. After a while I started shifting my focus onto the surrounding spaces between and around the figures, eventually cropping out the figures altogether. I was more interested in the benign uniformity, manicured lawns, and muted color palette of the suburban space. My camera found the edges of the grass against the concrete sidewalks, daily rituals of watering lawns, over-fertilized grass, the forgotten objects left outside, and the peaceful simplicity that we often take for granted as we move through our busy days.
There was also a tension between the impeccable facades and the untold stories of people that occupied the homes. These homes stood on land that had once been a farm, an open field, plantation, or native territories. There was an illusion of perfection from the outside, yet each house had its own story of reality looming within. I started painting scenes of suburban houses, zooming in and out of the landscape exploring concepts of environment, spirituality, identity, and time. The stories and dichotomy of suburban life continued to unfold as I examined the space from an outside perspective looking in, rather than being caught up in the busy, conforming, suburban lifestyle as a mom and so-called “housewife” at the time.
This suburban theme is something I have continued over the years. My current abstract body of work explores the same theme of suburban life and architecture but focuses on more of the formal elements, redundancies, and found objects that provide a direct, physical connection to the environment. My first abstract piece in 2008 was a happy little accident when I found a remnant piece of landscape mesh, (the stuff that is used in new home construction to hold down sod), and brought it back to my studio. I glued it down to a piece of Plexiglas and started painting in the grid of rectangles. Not only did I find the repetitive act of filling in each rectangle very meditative and satisfying, but it also served to connect the soft suburban color palette and redundancies of the houses within an imposed, conforming, grid-like structure.
Fast forward to today I am still using the grid loosely as a basis for many of my abstract paintings and have expanded to include remnant books, found objects, and mixed-media collage style works to tell my story. The surface I still use today for most of my paintings is a clear, Plexiglas panel rather than canvas because it brings a man-made, fabricated element to my paintings that is somewhat forgiving with acrylic paint and allows a little light to pass through the painting here and there.
I have had the opportunity to show my work in many galleries and business over the last 20 years as a professional artist. The Kansas City art scene has grown and expanded a lot in my lifetime. I am grateful for organizations such as Arts KC and the Kansas City Artist Coalition for providing numerous contemporary exhibitions, resources, and a collaborative community of professional artists that I feel honored to be practicing amongst. The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art and Kemper Museums have also been a huge inspiration. I feel very fortunate to have access to so much amazing art in our area.
My studio practice continues today in the Northland Area of Kansas City where I also teach art full time. I have always thought of myself as an artist first and a teacher second, but I couldn’t deny that each one informs the other. I have lots of new ideas and projects in the works. More info and work can be found on my website at www.lorrieboydston.com
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Most of the struggles I have had along the way as an artist stem from juggling my art career with being a mom, teaching full time, and the daily struggles of putting my own art as a priority over everyone and everything else going on around me. Time seems to slip away and leaves me with regret of not giving more attention to my own practice early on. Thank goodness for snow days and summer as a teacher! This gives me ample time to work in my studio and pursue opportunities as an artist.
As for the professional side of my art career, I find the most difficult part of being an artist is the sales and marketing side of it. I’ve managed to get better at this over the years but it has been a work in progress for sure. The internet along with social media have helped in many ways to promote my work and seek out exhibition opportunities, but it also creates the challenge being a major distraction from the act of creating. The road to being a professional artist has many holes but I wouldn’t have changed a thing about my choices. I am still learning and growing as an artist and enjoy every minute of it.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I think what sets me apart from other artists is that I have a unique perspective and approach to my subject matter. There are not many other artists doing the same type of artwork that I do. The subject of suburbia is sort of off-putting and not really something people would think to study or paint. Suburban life is to many a side note, gluttonous, materialistic thing from which most creative types would flee. Yet there are so many social and emotional issues that come up as I turn my perspective toward this space. I chose to live and work in this space for the sense of security and safety that it brings to me and my children. Yet I find that creating artwork about this space reveals the bigger issues relating to identity, diversity, conformity, and environment. I enjoy talking about my work when I have the opportunity and have come to realize that my work has evolved to be more about myself than the actual subject of suburbia. It is my own identity, my own search for meaning, creating order out of chaos.
I have come to be known mostly for my abstract works as those are what I have shown most throughout my professional career. Yet, those that know me or follow my story know that my work is much more conceptual in nature rather than being from just one genre, media, or type. I am always finding new ways and objects that will help me express my perspective on suburban life. Nothing is safe from the possibility of becoming part of my work in some way. I am most proud of how I have stayed true to my subject and philosophies of life along the way, remaining mostly positive amidst the turmoil of our political and social world.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
The journey continues with my art as my kids are now grown and I am nearing retirement as an art teacher. I am looking forward to new opportunities to share my work. I have several different series including the abstract grid series that I mentioned earlier in addition to works on paper and several small works series. I enjoy collaborating with other artists and hope to have some residencies or curatorial opportunities to explore in the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lorrieboydston.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorrieboydstonfineart/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LorrieBoydstonFineArt/
Image Credits
Images Left to right: 1. Artist Logo by K.J. Snider Designs 2. Symphony, Artist: Lorrie Boydston, acrylic mixed media on clear panel, 30×36 in.; 3. Fitting In, Artist: Lorrie Boydston, acrylic mixed media on. clear panel, 30×36 in.; 4. Window # 37, Artist: Lorrie Boydston, acrylic on vintage book cover, approx. 6×9 in.; 5. Little Tan House, Artist: Lorrie Boydston, acrylic on vintage book cover, approx. 5×8 in.; 6. Opus No. 24, Artist: Lorrie Boydston, acrylic mixed media on clear panel, 30×36 in. ; 7. Little One #69, acrylic on wood panel, 4×4 in.; 8. Birds Eye View, Artist: Lorrie Boydston, acrylic mixed media on clear panel, 24×18 in. All rights reserved.
Artist head shot portrait photo by Kris Roberts Photography, 2026.
