Andy Reed

The inspiration for my recent work comes from the delta regions of Tennessee, Mississippi, & Arkansas. Some would say the Delta is dull, uninspiring and flat. It is flat but in traveling in and through it I see it's quiet, lonely, melancholy beauty. I look for the vignettes or the portrait pieces; maybe a single tree or a small stand of trees that make up the larger landscape.

I don’t work from photographs rather from my memory in translating my impressions to canvas. Some paintings are site and time specific while others are compilation pieces. After deciding on the size of the finished painting the planning really starts. I have to make decisions on the horizon line, the center of interest, the sky/atmosphere, the scale, time of day and the color scheme. After toning the canvas, I’ll do a quick draw with a small brush to establish scale and general shapes. I then move to a large brush to block in shapes with base colors. After the base colors dry I alternate glazing with transparent colors and scumbling with opaque colors. In doing this I can achieve some very subtle color shifts and perceived detail that would not be possible when painting directly with one layer of paint. No specific time limit is allowed or allotted to a painting regardless of size. Some paintings, but not enough, come along easily. Others light me every step of the way. I’ll stop when I feel a painting is finished and live with it for a while before making a final decision. A signature and a frame is all that’s left.