Suzanne Reed Fine / Photograph by Harper Fine
“Balancing between representation and abstraction, many of Reed Fine’s recent paintings offer brushy glimpses of mountains, rocks and breezy meadows. These visions go back to the artist’s childhood in the mountains of Southern Colorado.
Restless and imaginative, it seems fair to say that over time Reed Fine has internalized the energies of nature...It seems impermanent and changeable, like a passing dream.”
— John Seed, Art Writer, Author of "Disrupted Realism: Paintings for a Distracted World"
BIOGRAPHY
(born 1967)
Suzanne is an American watermedia painter, fourth generation artist, born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The first 20 years of her life were spent in the rural, high mountain desert of southwest Colorado, daydreaming and studying the color of things; music, sounds, days, school subjects all have a particular ‘color’. The light in the Southwest creates crisp, intensely pure hues: cobalt blue skies, indigo and chocolate rivers, golden aspen leaves on lavender green trunks. As a result, shapes are distinct, with hard edges and high contrast. It wasn’t until after college, when she moved to Atlanta, that she realized color didn’t translate geographically. Skies weren’t the same shade of blue—in fact, they were sometimes green-gray. What’s more, humidity skews the lens, softening and muting colors while imparting a significant weight. Pale pink dogwoods, lemony yellow-white magnolias and red Georgia clays inundated her senses with their thick atmospheric veil. She was surrounded by myriad colors, each imbued with specific smells and textures. Shortly after, she left her career in graphic design to become a painter.
Reed Fine was curious about how color worked—how it could be used to express and communicate. She studied with top watermedia painters, honing her understanding of the medium and color theory. She got married, raised two children, traveled, and raised dogs, all the while taking in color however she could. Now that her children are grown and embarking upon their own journeys in the world, she uses every travel opportunity to expand her understanding of painting, visit museums, and discover new places.
Her paintings are about color, which she uses intuitively as a way of communication, pushing it as far as she can. The palette is informed by both the intense pure hues of the Southwest and the soft muted hues of the South. Though she draws extensively, her paintings begin with three or four colors that feel right for that day and mindset, rather than a sketch or predetermined outcome. Acrylic is her primary medium, as the color holds well, from transparent washes to opaque layers. Similarly, the rapid dry time of the medium lends a balance to her work tempo. The process is a call and response of layering colors against one another, bringing some forward while allowing others to recede. There is a lot of stepping back and assessing coupled with remaining open to what the painting says it needs. The tools she chooses vary— from brushes, rollers, scrapers and plastic lids to her own bare hands— in order to find the mark she wants. Finding the balance is what excites and brings her to the canvas every day.
Suzanne and her family reside in Columbus, Georgia, where she maintains her full time studio practice and teaches privately. Her work has been accepted in many national shows as well as in private and corporate collections. She was named by Artists' Magazine as one of the top ten "Artists to Watch", as well as Southwest Art's "Emerging Artists", and "Women in Arts". She was awarded the Edgar Ewing Award for the National Watercolor Society in San Pedro, California. She is represented by C. Waters Gallery in Creede, Colorado and Two Sisters Gallery and Highland Galerie in Columbus, Georgia. She is a Signature Member of American Watercolor Society, Associate Member National Watercolor Society, Signature Member Southern Watercolor Society. Suzanne is a founding and active member of the Board of Advisors for the Bo Bartlett Center, in Columbus, Georgia where she works in educational outreach in the schools.
Exhibitions
2023 National Watercolor Society, San Pedro, CA
Columbus State University & Friends of Art, Highland Galerie, Columbus, GA
Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
Above Snakes Gallery, Creede, CO
Beyond Go Figure, Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA
2022 Beyond Go Figure, Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA
Taste of Creede, Featured Artist, Creede, CO
“HART- An Art Show” Group Show, AC Hotels, Columbus, GA
2021 “Tranquility”, C. Waters Gallery, Creede, CO
Beyond Go Figure, Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus, GA
Signature American International Watermedia Exhibit, Fallbrook Arts Center, CA
Carrolton Center of Fine Arts, Georgia Watercolor Society, Carrolton, GA
Small Works Exhibition, Richeson Gallery, Kimberly, WI
2020 Sautee Nacoochee Center, Georgia Watercolor Society Exhibition, GA
2019 Lyndon House Arts Center, Georgia Watercolor Society Exhibition, Athens, GA
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, two commission pieces, Seattle, WA
Bo Bartlett Center, Drawing Under the Skylights, Columbus, GA
Creede Chamber of Commerce, Creede, CO
Two Sisters Gallery, Columbus, GA
2018 American Watercolor Society 151st International Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Signature Status, American Watercolor Society, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
Southern Watercolor Society Exhibition, Manatee Arts Center, Bradenton, FL
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse - Corporate collection , Reno, NV
Highland Galerie, Columbus, GA
2017 American Watercolor Society 150th Anniversary International Members Exhibition, NYC
Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Corporate Collection, Auburn Hills, MI
2016 Midtown Mingle Season Limited Edition Print, Columbus, GA
Summer Big Show - C. Waters Gallery, Creede, CO
Fall Exhibition, Group Show, Two Sister’s Gallery, Columbus, GA
Southwest Art Magazine, Women in Art
Columbus Museum - Art for Education, Columbus, GA
Columbus Museum - Let There Be Art! Columbus, GA
2015 Art for the Endangered Landscape Wolf Creek, Durango, CO
Painting with the Masters, Demonstration, Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA
The Taste of Creede, Plein Air Invitational, Creede, CO
2014 Nature Exposed, Two person show/David Montgomery, C. Waters Gallery, Creede, CO
The Big Show, Group Show, Frame Shop Creede, Creede, CO
Creede Repertory Theatre, 2014 Season Limited Edition Art Poster, Creede, CO
Women’s Works, Group Show, Northwest Area Arts Council, Woodstock, IL
Columbus Museum Let There Be Art! Columbus, GA
2013 Georgia Watercolor Society – National Exhibition, Carrollton, GA
National Watercolor Society – Members Exhibition, San Pedro, CA
American Watercolor Society – International Exhibition, New York, NY
Southern Watercolor Society — Members Exhibition, Quincy, FL
Taste of Creede, Plein Air painting and Exhibition, Creede, CO
Johns Creek Art Center, GWS Signature Member Exhibition, Atlanta, GA
Lagerquist Gallery, Atlanta, GA
SELECT FEATURES/AWARDS/podcasts
Voyage Atlanta Magazine, Canvas Rebel, https://canvasrebel.com/meet-suzanne-reed-fine/ August 2022
2 Girls in a Pod: Life’s Journeys and Everything in Between -
Podcast - https”://lnns.co/P7pZiMOvNds” September 2022
The Columbusite, Feature Vol. II, “In the studio with Suzanne Reed Fine”, Columbus, GA 2022
Featured Artist, 2022 Taste of Creede, Creede, CO 2022
Hart, Five person Art Show, AC Hotel, Columbus GA 2022
Jane Markson, The Curious Navel Podcast, New York, NY 2021
The Columbusite Magazine, Interview with Blake Blackmon, Columbus GA 2021
Artists Studio Visit, Art Makes You Smart Series, Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus GA 2021
Shout Out Magazine, Atlanta GA 2021
Voyage Atlanta Magazine, Feature Hidden Gems, South Atlanta Edition 2020
Georgia Watercolor Society, Lyndon House Art Center, Athens, GA 2019
American Watercolor Society, Signature Member Status, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY 2018
Del Norte Prospector, Del Norte Student Paints Success, by Lyndsie Ferrell, 2018
Ledger Enquirer, Columbus Artist featured in National Exhibit, by C.B. Wallace,2017
Midtown Mingle Art poster Artist, Midtown Columbus GA 2016
Southwest Art Magazine, Women in Art, 2016
Southwest Art Magazine, Women in Art 2015
Southwest Art Magazine, Emerging Artists 2015
Creede Repertory Theatre 2014 Season Art Poster Artist, Creede CO
Watercolor Artist Magazine - Ones to Watch 2013
Columbus Artists Guild - 2nd Place, 2012, Columbus GA
National Watercolor Society - Edgar Ewing Award, $500, 2012, San Pedro CA
National Watercolor Society - Donor Exhibition 2012, San Pedro CA
Columbus Artists Guild - Best of Show 2010, Columbus GA
Columbus Artists Guild - First place 2009, Columbus GA
Southern Watercolor Society - Canson Watercolor Award 2009, Columbus GA
Georgia Watercolor Society - 2nd place 2008, Valdosta GA
Creede Repertory Theatre, Solo Exhibition 2008, Creede CO
Watercolor Society of Alabama, 1st place, National Member Exhibit 2008, Decatur AL
Arts on the River – 2nd place 2007, Columbus GA
Joseph House Art Gallery Solo Exhibition 2007, Columbus GA
Watercolor Magic Magazine’s Artists to Watch 2007 nominee
Georgia Watercolor Society Awarded Signature Member Status 2007, Carrollton
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
American Watercolor Society, Signature Member, AWS
National Watercolor Society, Associate Member
Southern Watercolor Society, Signature Member, SW
Georgia Watercolor Society, Signature Member, GWS
The Bo Bartlett Center, Columbus State University, Founding Board Member
Education
Adams State University, Bachelor of Arts, Alamosa, CO 1989
Portfolio Center, Graphic Design, Atlanta, GA 1990