Cecil L. Reed Jr aka CREED
Born and raised in the small town of Folkston, Georgia, Cecil's early life was one that exemplified the love for family, nature and extracurricular activities. At the age of 7 he discovered that he had an attraction to art. He drew from books, magazines and still images. While in middle school he found himself tuned in to PBS to watch Bob Ross gracefully create beautiful landscapes.
Cecil, nurtured his childhood hobbies into adulthood by playing recreational football, and eventually going on to receive scholarships to play at Georgia Military College, Fort Valley State University and Carson Newman University. He majored in Fine Arts while attending Fort Valley State University and credits his greatness to his art professor, Mr. Rickey Calloway, who pushed him to be a master of his craft. Mr. Calloway played an integral part in Cecil's development as an artist. He taught Cecil how to become more cautious of his craftsmanship and to never accept mediocrity in anything that associated to him.
After graduating with a bachelors degree in Fine Arts in 2007 from Carson Newman University in Tennessee, and after football was completely over, Cecil followed his childhood dreams to become a martial artist. After 8 plus years of training Cecil, now holds the ranking of a 3rd degree black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu, a 1st degree in black belt in Tai Chi and is currently training in Kuntao Silat an Indonesian martial arts system.
His biggest influences, aside from his art teacher in college, are Thomas Blackshear, Frank Morrison and Kevin A. Williams. Cecil's artistic abilities are not limited to any one genre. He works predominately with the medium of acrylic and plans on incorporating other mediums in the future. Cecil, continues to focus on precise technique, details, composition and design. Although Cecil grew up in a small town, his talent and passion can be considered synonymous to the big city lights. He hopes to manifest his skill set and vision onto the canvas for the world to see and appreciate.