Alan Reed

Artist Alan Reed, was born in Northumberland, into a family with a history of painting, and fell in love with watercolours at the age of 15. He trained in art and design at Newcastle College and spent the early part of his career doing artist impressions of new building projects for architects. Over the last 35 years he has developed his own distinctive painting style that is instantly recognisable. His landscapes and cityscapes and his unique, fluid style captures the atmosphere of different settings from the drama of city life to the serenity and beauty of a rural landscape. "Although I have specialised in watercolour for the last 30 years, I have also worked in oil paints, charcoal, pencil, gold leaf and acrylic. I have been running my own art gallery since 1996 and exhibited throughout the UK and overseas in the USA, Italy, Oman and Kuwait. My subjects are varied including landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, architecture and portraits. Recent commissions include the Lakes Distillery and ancient Roman architecture. I produce paintings which are representational but not photographic. I'm concerned about capturing light and the fleeting moment in time, for which watercolour is ideally suited. In particular I like to paint pre 20th century architecture. Working on location all over the world, in particular Italy and the Middle East, has brought a creative sense of fluency to my painting" Alan has had many successful exhibitions both in the UK and abroad since 1981. The quality of Alan's work received national recognition with the selection of a number of his cityscapes in the Sunday Times watercolour competition for three successive years. His painting “Mont Blanc and Manganese Blue” was selected for exhibition at the Bankside Gallery, London for the Royal Watercolour Society Competition in February 2016. “Last Light, Ruwi, Oman” was shortlisted for “Artist & Illustrators” Artist of the Year in 2014. Alan’s watercolour of “Jebel Akdar, Oman” won "The Artist's Prize" in the Royal Watercolour Society Exhibition 2013 at the Bankside Gallery, London. He also runs exclusive luxury painting holidays in Italy with his wife Susan.