Kirsten Reed | COASTAL SENSES

Join us Friday, October 5, 2018, from 5PM to 8PM for the opening reception of COASTAL SENSES at 25 Central Square, presenting works by Kirsten Koza Reed.

Kirsten Koza Reed | COASTAL SENSES  is hosted by Anne Hunter Galleries in conjunction with the Seaside First Friday Art Walk.  Reed’s exhibition will run from October 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018, at 25 Central Square, in Seaside, Florida, and at 104 North Barrett Square at Amavida Coffee & Tea in Rosemary Beach, Florida.

I’m not an artist. I’m an interpreter. Observing the nuances and emotions of life and translating them with paint on to canvas.

When I was a little girl, I was in love with art. I found the smell of a new box of crayons intoxicating and loved getting my hands wet with finger paints! My favorite memories were coloring, painting and pressing beautiful flowers in books. After spending many years writing professionally about and for other people, I felt a nagging emptiness and a need to create once again. There was more I wanted to do creatively and I decided to first branch out with a blog – Keystrokes and Kaleidoscopes – to marry my love of words with my colorful need to create.

Suffering a personal loss with the death of our 2-year-old daughter years ago, I began healing by finding unexpected beauty in everyday life. I am intrigued by the simple beauty of life around me.

A wildflower in a vase.

A weathered door to an old building.

A cotton field burning white in the hot sun that looks like a blanket of snow.

A deer that has seen unfolding nature created before his eyes.

A field going to sleep with the sun kissing it gently after a long day of growing.  

These things intrigue me and I want to tell their stories on canvas.

Hope, love, faith and goodness are recurrent themes in my works. The bulk tends to be perfectly imperfect. Many of my pieces are created with a palette knife adding organic layers of interest, the look of peeling paint and evocative texture. I try to feel through my pieces as I paint them, creating an emotive scene or snapshot that stirs a soul. Often times, I write prayers for the world on my first layer ~ sending my peace out in to homes and businesses. Whether it’s through an abstract angel, a lone barn or a cheerful bouquet of flowers, I love to capture hope and beauty in our often dark and broken world.

Many of my pieces are purposefully upbeat and encouraging as I believe in coloring world by spreading joy and hope ~ as those emotions have rescued me. I invite you to join me in my art adventure by exploring and capturing some of the magical kaleidoscope we get to call “life”.

For more information: Kirsten Reed | 615.473.15070 | kirstenreed@yahoo.com | https://kirstenreed.crevado.com | Instagram: @kirstenkreed | Etsy: Kirsten Reed | Photo Credit: Chris Lowery

About Anne Hunter Galleries