The Art of David Lloyd Glover

Autumn Prelude by David Lloyd Glover

Dear Gentle Readers,

I have always liked the art of David Lloyd Glover. When I was growing up, my parents had a copy of this painting, Autumn Prelude, above the sofa. It was not an expensive print, but it was colorful and went with the furniture. I still like it.

All of the information here is from David Lloyd Glover's website. I claim nothing here, but the desire for more people to know the work of this outstanding artist.

Website:

http://www.davidlglover.com/

About David (from his website): Victoria, British Columbia is the 1949 birthplace of David Lloyd Glover.   Located on Vancouver Island, this typically British city with its famous English-style gardens formed the earliest influence on Glover’s art.  Mr. Glover grew up on the 600-acre estate known as Hatley Castle, it’s formal European and Japanese gardens, and country and ocean-side setting gave him a deep appreciation of nature’s beauty.  King George V visited the stone castle in 1939 that was so impressed with its grandeur that he decided it was to become the new home of King Edward VIII after his abdication from the British throne.  A Japanese torpedo hit the beach in 1941 and forever changed his Royal plans.

Glover’s relationship with his famous uncles, Academy Award winning film director Guy Glover and Oscar winning film animator Norman McLaren, fostered his interest in fine art and painting.  He demonstrated an apt talent and was granted admission to the Victoria College of Art when he was only in Grade 4 elementary school.  In 1962, he was commissioned by the English Speaking Union Library in New York City to design a special poster for children’s books.   As a result of winning a province-wide art competition, The Vancouver School of Fine Art accepted Glover for studies at just 14 years old despite the minimum age requirement of 18.  

A remarkable skill in pen and ink drawings was developed from Glover’s study of the techniques of the 19th Century English illustrators.  His mastery of the style earned him much notice, that by age 18, Glover was chosen to be the full-time editorial illustrator at the Victoria Times newspaper.  After creating illustrations daily for three years, the newspaper selected him to become their political cartoonist, making him the youngest editorial satirist in the country.  In addition to newspaper work, Glover received art commissions from magazine publications especially automotive journals like Road &Track and Car & Driver.

During the 1970ís and early 80ís he founded and directed an advertising agency producing magazine and newspaper advertising, television and radio commercials for a wide variety of major clients such as Pepsi Cola, Yamaha Motorcycles, McDonald’s Hamburgers, Pacific Western Airlines and Levis Jeans.  After selling his interest in the firm, Glover returned to his first love of fine art.

His new paintings in watercolor were met with instant success and very soon he developed a strong following of loyal collectors.  Almost overnight, David Lloyd Glover became one of the best selling artists at Vancouver’s most respected gallery. 

In 1986, The Royal British Columbia Museum acquired 26 original Glover watercolors for their permanent collection.   This museum is now conducting North America’s only exhibition of the masterworks of Leonardo Da Vinci.

In 1998, two galleries in Los Angeles began exhibiting Glover’s paintings to instant acclaim and recognition.  Art collectors including Hollywood celebrities were acquiring Glover’s original works on paper and serigraph editions.   In 1992, he was asked to appear in the Hollywood motion picture “Just My Imagination” starring Tom Wopat and Jean Smart.  Glover played himself, an artist painting an original portrait of the movie’s star character.  

As a result of his recognition, his paintings have been exhibited at major galleries in New York City, Carmel, California, La Jolla, California and Scottsdale, Arizona.  Glover’s serigraph editions have been exhibited in galleries all over the United States and Mexico.  In 1990, his serigraph “The Enchanted Patio” was awarded Best in Show in the Mexico City Graphic Arts Salon Competition for his outstanding achievement in art.  Glover has been featured in articles in major American art magazines like US ART MAGAZINE in 1993 , WATERCOLOR  MAGAZINE 1996, AMERICAN  ART COLLECTOR MAGAZINE,  December 2005.

As a young student, Glover was deeply influenced by the bold works of Canada's Group of Seven painters like Tom Thomson, J.E. H. MacDonald, Arthur Lismer, and A. Y. Jackson. David Lloyd Glover’ s artistic influences have been rooted in the masterworks of the impressionists like Renoir, Monet and Cezanne.  His works in oil on canvas reflect the sensibilities of color and light that have made the paintings of artists like Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh so magical and inspiring.  You can feel his love of natural settings and elegant gardens emanate from the richly colored oils he creates.  His great success in art is easily understood as his artistic vision speaks an international language that knows no borders or cultural barriers.

Since 1992, Glover has been exhibiting and selling in major galleries in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima and Sendai, Japan.  Glover ranks among the most widely collected original artists in Japan today with over 23 sold out original art exhibitions.  Japan has been a Glover family tradition ever since his great great Uncle,  first came to Japan in the mid 1880’s to become one of the more important early industrialists in Nagasaki.  Thomas Blake Glover was married to the fabled “Madame Butterfly” and his home and gardens are a national site in Japan to this day.  In 2005 he met an actual Japanese relative by marriage.    Madame Butterfly, Tsuru Glover’s great, great, granddaughter, Kazuko Noda, author of the book “Madame Butterfly and Madame Tsuru Glover” met with David Lloyd Glover and shared her historical knowledge of the Glover family ‘s contribution to Japan’s modern history. Glover Gardens is an important landmark in modern Nagasaki

In June 2005, Glover had a special exhibition at the Art Brillant Rodeo Drive Gallery in Beverly Hills.  The show featured a Glover’s jazz portrait series of the great icons in American Jazz.  Images of the greats like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Miles Davis were featured along with portraits of some of the contemporary legends like Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock.  Herbie also made a personal appearance at the show in honor of his friend David Lloyd Glover.  Currently Glover has been creating a series of the Icons of American Pop Culture for the Beverly Hills gallery, which includes portraits of Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Elvis and John Wayne.

May of 2008, Marble Arch Fine Arts and Gallery 17 Venice, California held a one-man exhibition “Iconography”.  Over 30 original works of the Icons of pop culture were featured in this show of his contemporary works.  

In 2011, David Lloyd Glover was a three-time featured guest on Barry Chappell's Fine Art Showcase  television show.  Glover has recently authored two new titles in 2014 for Walter Foster Art Books.  Pastoral Landscapes is a new book by David Lloyd Glover that shows how to paint six landscapes in a step-by-step demonstration.  As an artist that is known for his extraordinary use of color, Glover has revealed his secrets on creating and mixing acrylic colors for artists in a new book Color Mixing in Acrylics.