Bill Reed was born in Newport, Arkansas in 1952. His early years were spent in the swamps, forests, thickets, and deserts of Louisiana and Texas: where he was often free to roam unsupervised. After his family moved to Maryland, he spent his free time roaming the National Gallery of Art when not protesting the war. Although it has become a cliché, Woodstock was a defining moment in his life. Throughout his life Bill has loved art, film, music, and mathematics. He likes the work of many artists including the following: Franz Kline, Edward Hopper, Wassily Kandinsky, Morris Louis, Claude Monet, Henry Moore, Georgia O’Keeffe, Mark Rothko, David Smith, Robert Smithson, Dale Chihuly, P. J. Crook, Andy Goldsworthy,Takashi Murakami, Mark Tansey, and Gerhard Richter. His favorite films include: “A Thousand Clowns” (1965); “Dersu Uzala” (1975), “Quadrophenia” (1979), “Blade Runner” (1982), “Brazil” (1985), “Rivers and Tides” (2003), Serenity (2005), and “Gerhard Richter Painting” (2011). His favorite TV series of all time is The Expanse. Bill’s taste in music is eclectic and as wide ranging as his favorite group, King Crimson. He also loves Thelonious Monk. Lately he has been enjoying the music of Tyshawn Sorey.
His thought process is often a nonlinear flow of consciousness resulting in paintings that emerge as if he was not there during their creation, although they are clearly the result of his intentions upon approaching the blank canvas. His painterly process is clearly not one that lends itself to words: Bill is quick to admit that he does not think in words but instead thinks in images and numbers.
Bill Reed lives in Corpus Christi, TX on North Padre Island.