Ree Brown

Walking up to Ree's house we see a couple of bowls sat outside his front door, one containing water, the other cat food. "No, I don't have any cats. There are quite a few in the neighborhood that come by, though," says Ree, giving up a slight smile and a chuckle. These cats become unwitting subjects for some of Ree's portraits, painted onto paper or board using gouache, tempera, and watercolour.

Born in Utah, Ree worked for a petroleum company in Seattle and San Mateo, California, until the late 1960's when he decided to return to Seattle and retire. Along with his partner, Ree scoured western Washington for antiques and then "peddled what we could, but there really wasn't much money in it." In the mid 1970's Ree began to draw and then paint, pictures of "no one in particular", scenes containing birds, cats, and people. "I was always interested in art," says Ree. Ree's naïve paintings caught the attention of MIA Gallery who, in the late 1980's began to show his work.

Ree has been shown at several group shows at MIA, including "Northwest & Beyond" and is represented by several galleries across the U.S. Ree is also included in 20th Century American Folk, Self-Taught, and Outsider Art by Betty-Carol Sellen.