Our Towns

Lloyd Garrison never thought he could make a business out of painting. But the Millstone resident did not anticipate the reaction people would have to his highly detailed military and historical scenes.

Posted October 13, 2008 by Alicia Staffa

Millstone resident Lloyd Garrison creates postcards featuring highly detailed military and historical scenes.

Courtesy of Lloyd Garrison.

Garrison, who turns 65 in December, opened his first studio in 1966 on Grand Avenue in Rahway after returning from the army. “Within the first five years I was making a great income,” he says.

With a love for the Garden State and the Christmas season, Garrison began painting New Jersey holiday scenes, which were then reproduced as greeting cards. His first card was of the Rahway theater on Irving Street. (Garrison’s Rahway roots go back eleven generations.)

During the the past 10 years, he has created holiday cards for  Red Bank and Shrewsbury. This season,  Cranford and Linden join the list. The Cranford scene, left, depicts downtown shoppers; the Linden painting recreates Walt’s, a popular eatery known for its burgers and hot dogs.

Garrison creates two cards each holiday season and will only repeat a scene by request.  “Some people get very emotional,” he says. “The cards are special and show very pleasant memories of how things used to be.”
The painter still seems surprised by his  success. “I use my imagination. My idea could fly or it could sink like a rock,” he says.

The cards come 15 in a box for $20. Visit lloydgarrison.com for details.
 
If you enjoyed this story, you also might like this article about a painting that was stored behind a dresser for years, only to be appraised at $1 million by a museum when it was turned in. Click here to read: A New Life for a Still Life.
 

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