Reed is a queer, trans artist based out of Tucson, AZ. Their childhood in the Pacific Northwest and their career in conservation work informs their artistic practice, which primarily focuses on the tiny, often-overlooked details found in the lush parts of the natural world. Landscape compositions painted in vibrant colors and examinations of the boundaries between the natural and constructed worlds feature prominently in their work. Traditional media is their primary form of expression, with oil on canvas as their first and most enduring love. They have been practicing in this medium off and on for the past 17 years. Recently, they've taken to pyrography pens on wood panels, enhanced with watercolors. Occasionaly, they work in other mediums such as small woodcrafts, resin, pressed flowers, and house paint.
The Pathways series is an examination of the marks people leave on the land as they move through it. Inspired largely by the trailwork that represents a pivotal point in Reed's career path, walkways weave through colorful landscapes over the course of several paintings. Both the journey and the destination are celebrated through the realistic style with a touch of whimsy that is characteristic of Reed's work.
Pathways aims to inspire curiosity about what's around the next bend of the trail; what sights and secrets the landscape ahead holds. There's a balance to be had between putting one foot ahead of the other, moving through steep terrain or exhaustion, and slowing down to appreciate the space you're in at a given moment.
Morphology is Reed's first large pyrography project. Wood and watercolor come together to depict a variety of berries, drawing attention to the myriad of ways similar structures can express themselves.
