Adopted His Oil Technique to Watercolor: Charles Reid

Charles Reid is an artist, teacher and leading author known around the world. He has authored 11 instructional books on painting, all of which are directed toward students at all levels. He has long been considered a master of the medium of watercolor. His paintings are fresh and spontaneous, displaying his profound understanding of light and color, and his expert drawing ability. The viewer is immediately drawn into his rich compositions. Reid’s figures are beautifully rendered, in a simple, direct and natural gestural manner that reveals his interest in painting the light as much as the model.

Reid learned to paint in oils and spent several years doing large figurative paintings at The National Academy of Design.  His supervisor at Famous Artists needed a person to paint watercolor figures. He adopted his oil technique to watercolor.  Others find his approach unique in the way he adopted his oil technique to watercolor. 

 Another unusual attribute of Reid’s method is his relatively large palette or range of colors. He does not agonize over mixing just that exact, precise hue. In just a smallish tourist’s half-pan palette, Reid loads up to twenty colors, not the half dozen or fewer commonly recommended. A smaller palette does make color harmony more likely. 

 Charles Reid has long been considered a master of the medium of watercolor. His paintings are fresh and spontaneous, displaying his profound understanding of light and color and expert drawing ability. The viewer is immediately drawn into his rich compositions.

 He was born in Cambridge, New York and studied at the University of Vermont and the Arts Student league in New York. He is a member of many prestigious organizations including the National Academy of Design and the National Watercolor Society. Among the numerous awards for his work are the Childe Hassam Purchase Prize from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the First Altman Prize for the figure from the National Academy of Design. He maintains a busy teaching schedule, conducting painting workshops in the United States and internationally. Charles Reid's paintings are in private, corporate and educational institution collections throughout the United States and around the world. He is represented by the Munson Gallery, in Chatham, Massachusetts and the Stremmel Gallery, in Reno, Nevada.

 "It seems some good painting should leave some work for the viewer. What's the fun if everything is spelled out?  I say "some" since so much current watercolor painting is done in the studio with exact reference. I don't know how these pictures are done. Some are excellent so I can't pass judgement."  - Interview with Charles Reid

 —Ji Eun Choi

Ji Eun Choi is an international student from South Korea at Buffalo Seminary. She worked at the Burchfield Penney Art Center as an intern in her high school senior year.  She currently got admitted University of California, San Diego.

http://www.charlesreidart.com

Charles Reid. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2013. <http://www.charlesreidart.com/bio.html>. 

Charles Reid DVD. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2013.<http://www.charlesreidwatercolordvd.com/charlesreidbio.html>.