“Great art is about life.”
Biography
Coy A. Lothrop was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, but has lived the greater part of his life in the small towns dotting the Piney Woods of East Texas.
Lothrop’s extensive educational background includes two associate degrees, one in Advertising and Graphic Design and the other in Fine Arts, an invitation to attend the Royal College of Art in London, UK, and a place in the top 5% of his class at the University of North Texas. His professional career, spanning nearly 3 decades, includes working in the creative design industry as a visual designer, illustrator, creative director, and as an educator of higher learning.
Lothrop completed his Master of Arts in Studio Art with the University of Texas at Tyler with an emphasis in Oil Painting. His current work presents the viewer with an intimate, yet present-day interpretation of the genre of painted portraiture. His portraits address emotional, universal truths and attempt to illuminate shared societal issues through human countenance.
Currently, Lothrop is teaching at Kilgore College as a Professor of Visual Arts, where he has served and advised for 25 years, and manages the Visual Arts program.
Artist Statements
CURRENT WORK
I believe that great art is about life. I’d like to paint the things that matter most: Peace. Health. Family and Friends. Purpose. Time. Learning. And maybe most of all, Love.
MFA EXHIBITION
My work addresses the human condition and records what is happening in our contemporary society, for better or worse, and how growth, emotionality, conflict, and mortality manifest in the human figure, their relationships, and their environments in the most intimate ways.
Through the medium of paint, I work in bold colors and immediate, heavy brushwork to present the viewer with a sensuous, contemporary interpretation of the genre of portraiture. While delivering a representational physical appearance, I also allow informal qualities, such as gestural line and the evidence of the materials, to elevate the human narrative and the emotional context within the image.
Utilizing this combination of a traditional, realistic likeness with an expressive use of line, shape, color, and texture, I illuminate what it is to be human and invite the viewer to interpret a story from their own life experience.