The Artists: David Reese

David Reese, one of Central Florida's best known watercolorists, began his art studies at the High Museum School of Art in Atlanta and continued at the Art Students League and the Fashion Academy, both in New York, and at Florida State University in Tallahassee. He taught at the Fashion Academy, Atlanta Art Institute, Armstrong State College in Savannah, Georgia, Stetson University in Deland, Florida, and Valencia Community College in Orlando. Reese, formerly the director of the Loch Haven Art Center in Orlando, was also an instructor at the Crealdé School of Art in Winter Park, where he taught classes and workshops in watercolor.

"I usually paint segments of nature," Reese says, "and a lot of times I will take just a small portion of a scene and blow it up as big as 30 inches by 40 inches. It takes things out of context, and sometimes, the scenes become almost abstract." Reese occasionally uses slides as references, and says he will take a scene as small as a quarter of the slide and magnify it to huge proportions. "I don't just do pictures of a bouquet of flowers sitting on a table," Reese says. "And sometimes, I'll paint something like a cabbage or a piece of fruit." Reese also occasionally paints landscapes. In his technique, Reese says he doesn't use tricks or gimmicks, relying mainly on composition and subject matter for impact.

Reese will also be featured in Art Legends exhibitions at the City of Orlando Terrace Gallery (October 15, 2015 through January 8, 2016) and the Orange County Regional History Center (March 5 through May 29, 2016).