“I feel free and alive when I’m in the countryside on a long walk and there’s something magical about being in the woods. I love the changing light and shadows and hope to create beautiful paintings that create a sense of escapism.” Beckie Reed lives and paints in East Anglia. She is constantly inspired by her surroundings, and regularly goes out on long walks (always with her camera) seeking inspiration for her art. She tends to work from these photographs, sometimes taking different images and merging them together. Beckie’s lively canvases are full of contrast- with each piece a mix of expressive washes and areas of highly concentrated detail. Her work is always evolving, and she remains inspired and excited by the discovery of new techniques. But although she loves to experiment in medium and style, the formal elements of painting are especially important to the artist- colour and composition always remain key aspects. She started exhibiting with Byard Art shortly after graduating from Loughborough University in 2004, with a first in Fine Art Painting. Her work is now exhibited and collected worldwide and sought after in not only her home country but also as far afield as New York, Florida and Hong Kong.