Rebecca Lloyd establishing herself with varying styles

More than a dozen works of art hang on the walls of The Shop on South Perry Street. The mediums are acrylic, watercolor and mixed. The styles are so different that one might think the work of more than one artist is on display, but there is only one – Rebecca Lloyd. “My subject and style range goes based on emotion and what was going on when I painted it,” she said.

Her traditional boats in a harbor float serenely; a geisha girl wears a hat coyly; Lloyd’s urban nightscape has a hint of abstract. Her more boldly brushed abstracts are rich with shape and texture, while her drawings are a sharp contrast to the heavily applied paintings.

Lloyd, 23, began painting at an impressionable age. “I was antisocial and I used art as an outlet. When I’m painting, it’s that moment in time. It’s all I think about. It’s like meditation,” she said. Her mood dictates the final piece. Her ability to capture a mood is self-taught, coming from years of authentically expressing herself.

Lloyd grew up in Oregon, moved to Texas, Tacoma, then Alaska. Her husband’s job brought them to Spokane. They have settled comfortably in a small Craftsman home on the South Hill. “I’ve moved around so much,” she said. “Now I can establish myself.”

A few years ago, people started showing interest in her work. She sold some to friends and acquaintances and did some commissioned pieces. Her show at The Shop is her first public display and she hopes to find more places in which to exhibit her talent.

Currently she is studying nursing at the Community Colleges of Spokane and works as a barrista, which she finds interesting. “People share their lives in the few minutes they’re at my window,” she said.

She paints on a box easel which doesn’t take up much space in her small but cozy home, or she just “takes over the living room while she works on a project.”

“I don’t need a lot of space,” she said. “When I was younger, I just laid on the floor wherever I was.”

Still young, Lloyd envisions a room to herself in her next home where she can perfect her lifetime hobby of expressing herself artistically.

To Lloyd, creating is about doing it for yourself, not for others. “I don’t want to confine myself or let others define me,” she said. “Being able to express myself this way means a lot to me. It relieves stress and relaxes me. I don’t ever want to lose that. I’m young; I will find my niche.”