Artist Interview - Lynette Reed - by Alison J Gilbert

Artist Interview – Lynette Reed

Art, Artist Interviews, Inspiration

Lynette Reed

AG: Hi Lynette, I’m so thrilled that we were able to have this time to talk about your art. We both did Art 2 Life’s CVP programme in 2021 and I’ve enjoyed following your progress ever since.

Can you start by sharing a bit about your artistic background and journey, how did you first get involved in art?

LR:  Well, I feel like I’ve been a bit involved in art my whole life. My mother started painting when I was young and she does really beautiful landscapes and florals and things like that, and I always had to be making something. I always had my hands in something, but I never really did anything with it until I was probably in my 20s and living in New York City. 

I went back to school at Parsons for interior design, switched my major halfway through to do ceramics, and then ended up moving back to California to do some acting so there that went! After that you know I started illume candles and even though that was a business, a lot of art is involved. Creating the concepts and the direction and art direction of everything in the fragrances, and all of that. But I didn’t start painting as an abstract painter in any real or serious way until COVID. I was in Italy at the time. I had been going back and forth every other month to Italy as my partner was here and so I was here when COVID hit, and in Italy it was really bad. I was still working, I have a job in California, working full-time for a candle factory. I’m a fragrance expert in the home fragrance industry so I consult with a lot of big retailers and brands and all of that. But work got very slow during that time, so I bought some art supplies online and started watching YouTube videos. I eventually found my way to Nicholas Wilton’s Art 2 Life CVP programme and that is kind of how I got really involved. That’s when things really started to explode for me.

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