Critical Reviews

In Washington, DC Art News, noted art critic F. Lennox Campello wrote:

But let me tell you about the piece that took my breath away.

"Pippy Takes a Ride" is a magnificent oil portrait by Edward J. Reed, who goes by Ted, and who teaches portrait painting at the Art League in Alexandria.

In this work, Reed captures that immensely difficult wisp of essence that makes a portrait change from a painting of a person to a portrait of a person.

He has not only captured the pretty-girl quality of the model (who is one of the most popular and talented Art League models around), but also managed to catch her presence and spirit. This is just not a painting of a deeply sensual woman dressed in tough biker gear; this is a work of art that steals a little bit of the soul and presence of the model and embeds it in the oil and medium and visual weight of the work.

WOW!

I was absolutely hypnotized by the work, and on a second and third view of the work, I noticed a clever hanging of the works around it. Right below the painting was a very sexy black and white photograph of a woman’s curled toes. The photograph is lined up directly below where Pippy’s legs end.

"Did you know?" I asked the gallerist at the Art League, "that those toes are the toes of the same model who posed for Pippy?"

The gallerist glowed. "Yes!" she smiled, "that’s why I put them there."

Click here to go to read Mr. Campello's entire review. Mr. Campello is an art critic who regularly writes for the Washington Post, the Old Town Crier, Visions Magazine for the Arts, Dimensions Magazine, Pitch Magazine, The City Beat, The KOAN Art Newsletter, Art Calendar, DC One Magazine, and other publications.

Click here to see the photo of the model/photographer's toes.

In Northern Virginia Art Beat, art critic Kevin Mellema writes:

Many portrait painters work from photos these days, and frankly, the finished products tend to show it. They lack the life and presence of the subject, reducing them to a two-dimensional pastiche of the person they intend to portray.

Reed paints subjects not only in the flesh, but actively engaged in relaxed conversation. The result is an amazingly life-like visage that seems to live somewhere between the two- and three-dimensional worlds. He's not quite up to Rembrant standards, but he's getting close to it. The finest examples here are a pair of canvases entitled "Pippi Takes a Ride" and "Present Stranger."

Pippi is a Harley-riding woman who's at once strong, capable, confident, and we dare say not lacking in Tom-boyish allure. While we know the welding goggles around her neck are probably just for riding, we wouldn't think twice if she picked up an acetylene torch and lit it.

Click here to read Mr. Mellema's full review of the "Presence" exhibit.

Click here for information on the painting's titles and for information and images of the subject, Sonia, a gifted photographer.

Edward J. Reed 2007