Veda Reed

b. 1934, Granite, OK
There is a sense in which I view creativity, I mean mine of painting, as a spiritual experience.
Fourth of July
Fourth of July

Veda Reed is revered for her long career of creating sublime, luminous, large-scale paintings of skies, cloudscapes, and the cycles of the sun and moon. Inspired by her childhood in wide-open spaces of Oklahoma, her works represent moments of warmth and comfort experienced while witnessing nature. Working in isolation and silence, her studio practice reflects the flow of the atmospheres she depicts. She reduces images to their essential forms and then amplifies their presence through selective composition, brilliant palettes, and a painstaking process of layering pigment and glaze. Her incredibly smooth, seamless surfaces create perceptual effects ranging from a subtle, vibrating glow to pure radiance. For Reed, the act of painting is a spiritual journey toward truth and beauty and a celebration of cycles of renewal.

Veda Reed has lived and worked in Memphis since 1952. She received a BFA from the Memphis College of Art and studied at Siena College in Memphis and the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Amidst her long tenure as faculty member and dean at MCA, she has participated in numerous exhibitions in museums and galleries across the U.S. and has received many awards and honors, including the 1996 Tennessee Governor’s Award in the Arts. The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art mounted a large-scale retrospective exhibition of her work in 2017. She is featured in the collections of Baker Donelson, Memphis; Boyle Investment Company, Memphis; Bracewell & Patterson, Washington, DC; First Tennessee Bank, Memphis; Independent Bank, Memphis; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis; Memphis Cancer Center, Memphis; Memphis College of Art, Memphis; Memphis University School, Memphis; Opryland Hotel, Nashville; Rhodes College, Memphis; Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; State University of New York at Binghampton, Binghampton, NY; The State of Tennessee Fine Arts Collection, Nashville; Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson; and the Urban Arts Commission, Memphis, among others.

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Fourth of July
Fourth of July
Purple Clouds
Purple Clouds
Oklahoma Sunset
Oklahoma Sunset
Backyard Sky - Dark Red Cloud
Backyard Sky - Dark Red Cloud
Backyard Sky - Summer
Backyard Sky - Summer
Backyard Sky - Summer 2
Backyard Sky - Summer 2
Black Cloud at Sunrise
Black Cloud at Sunrise
Moon and Clouds
Moon and Clouds
Red Sky in the Morning
Red Sky in the Morning
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #1
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #1
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #2
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #2
Country Road
Country Road
Study, Backyard Sky
Study, Backyard Sky
Backyard Sky at Sundown Study No. 1
Backyard Sky at Sundown Study No. 1
Cloud Layers
Cloud Layers
Backyard Sky Super Moon
Backyard Sky Super Moon
Pending Storm
Pending Storm
Garuda Lands And Waits
Garuda Lands And Waits
Moonlit Cloud Layers
Moonlit Cloud Layers
Fair Weather Clouds
Fair Weather Clouds
Cloud Scatter
Cloud Scatter
Rare Cirrus Cloud (Kelvin-Hemholtz)
Rare Cirrus Cloud (Kelvin-Hemholtz)
Garuda Waits
Garuda Waits
Lunar Corona
Lunar Corona
Backyard Sky: Yellow Cloud
Backyard Sky: Yellow Cloud
Backyard Sky: After Sundown
Backyard Sky: After Sundown
Backyard Sky: Cloud Layers
Backyard Sky: Cloud Layers
Oklahoma Highway 9
Oklahoma Highway 9
Backyard Sky Studies #2
Backyard Sky Studies #2
Backyard Sky Studies #4
Backyard Sky Studies #4
Winter Trees And Moon
Winter Trees And Moon
Backyard Sky Studies #1
Backyard Sky Studies #1
Backyard Sky Studies #3
Backyard Sky Studies #3
Daybreak, #2
Daybreak, #2
Taos Mountain Sky: 6-17-97
Taos Mountain Sky: 6-17-97
Taos Mountain Sky, 6-9-97
Taos Mountain Sky, 6-9-97
Oklahoma Trees #2
Oklahoma Trees #2
Fourth of July
Fourth of July
oil on canvas, 44x44
2017
Purple Clouds
Purple Clouds
oil on canvas, 34x52
2017
Oklahoma Sunset
Oklahoma Sunset
oil on canvas, 4x6
2020
Backyard Sky - Dark Red Cloud
Backyard Sky - Dark Red Cloud
oil on canvas, 5x7
2021
Backyard Sky - Summer
Backyard Sky - Summer
oil on canvas, 4x6
2020
Backyard Sky - Summer 2
Backyard Sky - Summer 2
oil on canvas, 4.5x6
2021
Black Cloud at Sunrise
Black Cloud at Sunrise
oil on canvas, 5x7
2021
Moon and Clouds
Moon and Clouds
oil on canvas, 3x5.75
2020
Red Sky in the Morning
Red Sky in the Morning
oil on canvas, 4x6
2020
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #1
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #1
oil on Reeves paper, 3.75x5.5
2020
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #2
Dark Clouds Lower Above the Horizon: Homage to FD Study #2
oil on canvas, 4.25x4.25
2020
Country Road
Country Road
oil on canvas, 4x6
2021
Study, Backyard Sky
Study, Backyard Sky
oil on canvas, 4.5x6.25
2019
Backyard Sky at Sundown Study No. 1
Backyard Sky at Sundown Study No. 1
oil on panel | 10x10 | $4000
2019
Cloud Layers
Cloud Layers
oil on canvas, 44x58
2018
Backyard Sky Super Moon
Backyard Sky Super Moon
oil on canvas, 36x28
2018
Pending Storm
Pending Storm
oil on canvas, 40x60
2017
Garuda Lands And Waits
Garuda Lands And Waits
oil on canvas, 40x60
2018
Moonlit Cloud Layers
Moonlit Cloud Layers
oil on canvas, 28x60
2018
Fair Weather Clouds
Fair Weather Clouds
oil on canvas, 60x40
2018
Cloud Scatter
Cloud Scatter
oil on canvas, 40x60
2018
Rare Cirrus Cloud (Kelvin-Hemholtz)
Rare Cirrus Cloud (Kelvin-Hemholtz)
oil on canvas, 22x36
2018
Garuda Waits
Garuda Waits
oil on canvas, 28x72
2018
Lunar Corona
Lunar Corona
oil on canas, 50x40
2018
Backyard Sky: Yellow Cloud
Backyard Sky: Yellow Cloud
oil on canvas, 20x28
2018
Backyard Sky: After Sundown
Backyard Sky: After Sundown
oil on canvas, 28x36
2018
Backyard Sky: Cloud Layers
Backyard Sky: Cloud Layers
oil on canvas, 28x20
2018
Oklahoma Highway 9
Oklahoma Highway 9
oil on canvas, 20x24
2017
Backyard Sky Studies #2
Backyard Sky Studies #2
oil on canvas, 10x12
2018
Backyard Sky Studies #4
Backyard Sky Studies #4
oil on canvas, 10x8
2018
Winter Trees And Moon
Winter Trees And Moon
28x36
2018
Backyard Sky Studies #1
Backyard Sky Studies #1
oil on canvas, 12x10
2018
Backyard Sky Studies #3
Backyard Sky Studies #3
oil on canvas, 10x12
2018
Daybreak, #2
Daybreak, #2
oil on cavnas, 48x48
2005
Taos Mountain Sky: 6-17-97
Taos Mountain Sky: 6-17-97
oil on linen, 36x51
1997
Taos Mountain Sky, 6-9-97
Taos Mountain Sky, 6-9-97
oil on canvas, 50x80
1998
Oklahoma Trees #2
Oklahoma Trees #2
oil on paper, 17x18.5
1972

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