Downtown. It’s a word that makes you think of shops, restaurants, and bustling passers-by. Cranford’s downtown is the epitome of those things, with its myriad of eateries, boutiques, and people either shopping in town or commuting to Manhattan aboard the train. And yet despite all the activity, Downtown Cranford still feels small and homey, and that feeling is ever-present during the holidays. Perhaps it’s the way the old-fashioned wreaths and twinkling lights festoon all the streetlamps. Or maybe it’s the way the shops beckon you in with their cheerful window displays and frequent open houses. More likely it’s the people, who still smile at one another as they pass on the street, still hold doors for each other, still go out of their way for friends and strangers alike.

Lloyd Garrison Downtown Cranford Painting is simply enchanting!

Artist Lloyd Garrison has captured the essence of downtown Cranford in his painting of the snow-covered intersection of North Ave. and Eastman Street. You just can’t look at this painting without smiling. Whenever I take new clients around Cranford, they always get that same smile as we explore in person the charming downtown that Lloyd has expertly depicted on canvas. (oldmcmickys.com)  

This is Lloyd’s 49th year as a professional artist and a mostly self-taught one at that. Lloyd has been fortunate in his career to have painted a wide variety of subject matters, including events from historical battles, such as his painting of George Washington and his troops crossing the Delaware River, which is currently housed in the Washington Crossing State Park Museum. According to Lloyd, his paintings are more like stories that get you emotionally involved in the subject. Of the downtown Cranford painting, Lloyd says, “There are not many town centers that can be painted easily. Cranford’s downtown has such a quaint look to it and lends itself to storytelling through painting.”

I hope you’ve enjoyed Lloyd’s rendering of downtown Cranford–it’s yet another example of why I LIVE … WORK … LOVE … LOCAL!!!