William F. Reese

William F. Reese, born in South Dakota and raised in Central Washington, has been painting for over 50 years. He began painting at age twelve, and after high school studied fine art at Washington State College and the Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles. In 1971 he left his sign painting business of thirteen years to work fulltime in his studio where he taught privately the art of drawing and painting. Reese's work is basically a diary of his life. He works mostly in oil, but has also produced a large body of work in other media, including sculpture and etchings. He has received many national and regional awards over the years, such as the Robert Lougheed Award from the National Cowboy Hall of Fame, two silver medals from the National Parks Academy for the Arts, and the Red Smith Award from the National Museum of Wildlife Art. Many art magazines have published articles on Reese and he was the subject of an award-winning book by Mary N. Balcomb entitled Wm. F. Reese, American Artist, published in 1984.