Artist Spotlight: Airhead Art

Marilyn Masters Arseneau congratulates Charles Boykin on his

winning painting of musician, Adam Lambert.

BAY SAINT LOUIS, MS- When local floral designer Charles Boykin isn’t busy flirting with fauna at his shop, Adams Loraine Flowers on Highway 90, you can find him creating arrangements of color on canvas.

Boykin, creator of Airhead Art, started drawing portraits when he was eight years old. “My mother would hate it when I drew my vampires and werewolves. She would make me draw other people like my grandfather or my brothers,” he reflected, “I really found I enjoyed drawing celebrities most, especially very colorful people like David Bowie, Madonna, Marilyn Monroe, and Elton John.”

Although accustomed to using pencil, charcoal, and pastels, he was introduced to airbrush watercolor in the summer of 1984 while living in San Diego, California. From that point on, he began studying books on airbrush technique.

After a couple of years of practice, Boykin began selling his artwork in Chicago, Illinois, under the pen name, Shawn Everett. He eventually ended up in Bay Saint Louis, where he switched mediums and became a professional floral designer.

Being a busy business owner, it was difficult finding time for artwork, which took a back seat for years until it was finally resurrected in 2009.

By joining organizations such as The Arts, Hancock County, Boykin found an outlet through which he could not only display his work, but receive feedback and support from other artists as well.

“The Arts gave me a lot of confidence and opened a lot of doors,” he acknowledged. “Joining allowed me to donate my art to various organizations and enter my artwork into galleries and shows, something I had wanted to do all my life.”

He is pictured above with his winning portrait of Adam Lambert, shown at Pearl River Community College’s Wave Gallery in January 2010.

His artwork can be found at Adams Loraine Flower Shop on Highway 90, PRCC’s Wave Gallery until March 18, 2011, and online at etsy.com. Pictures and videos of his work can be found on Facebook under “Airhead Art” and YouTube under the username “chaddbb”.

As seen published in the Seacoast Echo on 2/5/11