Louder
also called
Pippi Takes a Ride
Edward J. Reed 2007
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In Washington, DC Art News, noted art critic F. Lennox Campello reviewed the March 2006 All Media Juried Exhibit at The Art League Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. Click here to go to that webpage.
Here’s the portion of the review that addresses this painting:
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 see the photo of the model/photographer's toes.
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.