Craig Reynolds was born in Gadsden, Alabama and was taught by his father at an early age to draw and paint. As a young man, Craig learned a deep appreciation for the outdoors, old farms, and barnacle-laden harbors with their history told by the well-worn scars and patina earned by years of hard work and time. His father taught him to use his talents to record these memories with paint and canvas. Craig began painting professionally in 1984 while also maintaining his professional career. He began his full-time professional art business in 2005.
Craig travels extensively, participating in plein air competitions, paintouts, and painting excursions across the United States and abroad. Along with teaching a local mentoring program in his hometown of Gulf Shores, Alabama, Craig also travels around the south teaching plein air and studio workshops. Among his many awards, Craig received First Place in the 2019 Saint George Island Plein Air Competition, First Place in the 2019 Artists on Location Plein Air Competition in Knoxville, TN. Craig also received an award for Exceptional Body of Work in the 2018 Paint Annapolis Plein Air Competition in MD, Honorable Mention at the 2018 Artists on Location Plein Air Competition in Knoxville, Tennessee, Third Place Award in the 2018 Shadows on the Teche Plein Air Competition in New Iberia, Louisiana. In addition, Craig has been published by Plein-Air Magazine and his oil paintings hang in many private collections in the United States and abroad.
Artist’s Statement: My method of painting from life brings a sense of atmosphere, capturing the essence of the scene to depict a more dynamic painting. Painting on location, experiencing the sounds, the temperature, the light and ambiance of the scene is very important to adding its DNA to the painting. I first envision the composition, light, and atmosphere of a painting then I continue from life and memory.
I give my father and a college art teacher credit for much of my early art education. My teacher encouraged me to concentrate on my natural abilities rather than change me. In my later years, I became self-taught and am greatly influenced by N.C. Wyeth, Andrew Wyeth, John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla and Emile Gruppe. Also, I have studied under and am influenced by Jason Saunders and mentor, Roger Dale Brown. I consider my work to be representational impressionism, leaning toward expressionism at times.
Representation:
The McBride Gallery, Annapolis Md
The Live Oak Gallery, Apalachicola Fl
On The Waterfront Gallery, Apalachicola Fl
The Coastal Arts Center of Orange Beach
The Turner Center For The Arts, Valdosta Ga
Organizations: American Impressionist Society; Oil Painters of America; American Society of Marine Artists
2019: Plein Air Fairhope, Eastern Shore Art Center, Fairhope, Alabama; New Smyrna Beach Plein Air Paintout Competition, New Smyrna Beach, Florida; High Cotton Plein Air Paintout Juried Artist, Pines & Palms, Thomasville, Georgia; Bath County Plein Air Festival Juried Artist, Warm Springs, Virginia; Pines & Palms Art Group, From Field to Studio Workshop, Instructor, Thomasville, Georgia; The Scottish Highlands, Inverness to Whitebridge Mentoring trip with Roger Dale Brown; Paint Annapolis Plein Air Competition, Juried Artist, Annapolis, Maryland; Saint George Island Paintout, Juried Artist, Saint George Island, Florida – FIRST PLACE; Lighthouse Art Center Plein Air Competition, Juried Artist, Tequesta, Florida; Wekiva Paintout, Juried Artist, Wekiva Island, Florida; Artists on Location Plein Air Competition, Juried Artist, Knoxville, Tennessee -FIRST PLACE; Gulf Coast Arts Alliance, Essence of Oil Painting Workshop Instructor
2018: Wekiva Paintout, Juried Artist, Wekiva Island, Florida; New Smyrna Beach Plein Air Competition, Juried Artist, New Smyrna Beach, Florida; Fort Myers Beach Paint the Beach Plein Air Competition Juried Artist, Fort Myers Beach, Florida; The Best of the Chesapeake Show, McBride Gallery, Annapolis, Maryland; Painting trip to Maine; Plein Air Easton Plein Air Competition, Juried Artist, Easton, Maryland; Paint Annapolis Plein Air Competition Juried Artist, Annapolis, Maryland – EXCEPTIONAL BODY OF WORK AWARD; Southeastern Plein Air Invitational, Gadsden, Alabama; Paint the Town Workshop Instructor, Gautier, Mississippi; Artist on Location Plein Air Competition, Juried Artist, Knoxville, Tennessee – HONORABLE MENTION; Saint George Island Paintout, Juried Artist, Saint George Island, Florida; Shadows on the Teche Plein Air Competition Juried Artist, New Iberia, Louisiana – THIRD PLACE
2017: American Impressionist Society Annual Small Works Showcase, Juried Artist; Shadows on the Teche Plein Air Competition Juried Artist, New Iberia, Louisiana; Ballyhoo Festival, Gulf Shores, Alabama – BEST OF SHOW; Olmstead Plein Air Quick Draw, Atlanta, Georgia; Forgotten Coast Quick Draw Competition, Apalachicola, Florida; Selma Pilgrimage Paintout Juried Artist, Selma, Alabama; Paint the Town Plein Air Competition, Gautier, Mississippi – BEST OF SHOW; Paint Annapolis Plein Air Competition, Annapolis, Maryland; Paint the Beach Plein Air Competition, Fort Myers, Florida – FIRST PLACE & SECOND PLACE IN QUICK DRAW