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Arien Reed

Portfolio

ALOK Vaid-Menon is a non-binary activist and writer who unapologetically refuses to be ashamed about their body hair or flamboyant, feminine wardrobe. Few people in this world have endured as much harassment online and in-person as ALOK, and far fewer heal from it as gracefully and beautifully, sharing such experiences publicly through poetry and responding only with forgiveness, understanding, and love. "In my culture, transgender is not just an identity; it is a tactic of survival," ALOK shares in their poem "Trans-Generation" on YouTube, in which they describe their grandmother's lifetime of abuse. "I refuse to call my grandmother transphobic; I will not blame her for her own violence." I think it takes an inspiring commitment to constant kindness to see people for the entire life of struggle they've had to live, rather than judging them for a moment in which they behaved poorly out of ignorance or pain.

Albert Cashier was born on Xmas day in Clogherhead, Ireland. His step-father dressed him as a boy so he could get a job to support the family after his mother passed away early in his life. Cashier found his way to Illinois as a stowaway and there, he worked as a laborer, farmhand, and shepherd, living as a man. In 1862, at 19 years of age, he enlisted in the 95th Illinois Infantry, Union army of the American Civil War in Belvidere, IL. There, he served for three years before returning to civilian life.

At least 400 females likewise fought in the Union army, most of whom were never ‘outed’ after their years of service had ended” and lived the rest of their lives as men, making Albert Cashier merely one known example of the hundreds of trans masculine people who fought to end slavery in the U.S.

Some female bodied soldiers, including Albert Cashier, had relationships with other women. Many, like Cashier, were discovered to be biologically female only after their death when their bodies were prepared for burial.

References: Out History

A monochromatic watercolor painting featuring a self-identifying androgynous person, this painting is intended to invite the viewer to dream and hope, and to let go of fear and insecurities.

This off-kilter drawing features a woman with a fair complexion, partially shaved head, long, wavy, stylishly messy hair, gaged ears, and vivid tattoos of flowers and geometry, which fall apart and float away. Aptly named by one of my followers on instagram, this piece is raw and unfiltered, and refuses to conform to traditional art norms about how beautiful women are supposed to pose while being drawn, which was, in part, why drawing her was so fun.

In this acrylic painting, a woman with Leopard's Syndrome (Multiple lentigines syndrome) is personified as the non-binary deity of Autumn.

Sleeping in, being lazy for once, not caring about hair or makeup—this quick, loose sketch was simply about the importance of taking time to ourselves, to be our imperfect, carefree selves.

This painting features a misty view of Mount Shasta in the bisexual pride colors.

A watercolor painting of an AFAB (assigned female at birth) person wearing a chest binder and loving the way it shapes their chest.

A watercolor painting celebrating Black, trans resilience.

All proceeds go directly to Brianna Ghey's family's GoFundMe.

Featuring Brianna Ghey, a trans teen who was murdered in a park. Brianna was a much loved, kind, supportive girl with feminine flair and a happy, helpful attitude. She was a support network to many other trans people and trouble teens, despite the challenges of overcoming her own emotional troubles. She was a sweet person and a radiant light. She should be alive.

So, I did my best to keep something about her alive. I hope this brings others the healing and solace I have found by making it. Thank you to all who support this artwork. I just know she would want to continue to bring happiness, smiles, and hope into people's lives.

Original artwork is mixed media (watercolor and charcoal) on 11x14-inch watercolor paper.

Featuring the likeness of freckled actress, Sara Cummings, this painting features a woman severed from her body and defying gravity, broken-off monochromatic hands still clinging to her as she rises through the air. After the overturn of Roe V Wade, it was important to me that I feature a cisgender woman in my artwork as I express my feminist passion.

Born in Vermont in 1812, Charley Parkhurst was orphaned at a young age. He and his siblings were placed in an orphanage with a strict institutional environment. Parkhurst swiped boy’s clothing and ran away and worked in a stable at Worcester, and soon became an expert whip. He was fond of a six-in-hand (six-horse team), earning him the nickname “Six-Horse Charley”.

He took a job with the new California Stage Company, and started running stage lines around the San Francisco Bay area and the Sierra foothills. Parkhurst also rounded up bandits and put them in prison himself.

“Parkhurst waged a war upon the outlaws (along) the route of the Grass Valley stage,” according to Munsey’s Magazine, 1901. “He was small, but full of nerve and resource. Once a robber halted him as he was lashing his horses through a mud hole that threatened to bog him down. Parkhurst’s whip was in the air when the robber sprang out of the brush. Down came the lash across the road agent’s eyes. The fellow was picked up a day later, utterly blinded (but) they saved (one) eye so he could see well enough to pick jute during his term in (San Quentin).”

After a horse kicked Parkhurst, causing him to lose an eye, he earned the nickname “One-Eyed” Charley.

He spent his entire life as a well-renowned stagecoach driver until he retired due to rheumatoid arthritis and passed away from cancer in 1879. He was not discovered to be biologically female until after his death.

Reference: CDCR

No one aided Lozen’s campaign against the U.S. Army, like Dahteste. Dahteste was a scout, messenger and mediator (traditionally male roles). They were married and fought alongside their husband, and also their “battle buddy” Lozen.

Dahteste spent eight years as a prisoner of war at Fort Marion and 19 years at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Upon their release, they relocated to Whitetail on the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico. They owned many sheep (a sign of wealth to many Southwestern tribes) and had a hired man to help keep them. They were often seen riding around the reservation in a pickup, dressed in full regalia. They outplayed everyone in baseball and lived in peace on Mescalero Reservation until their death in 1955.

Reference: KQED

This painting features Daniel Aston, one of the transgender people whose lives were taken in the transphobic shooting of Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Daniel was a kind young man who worked as a bartender at Club Q, where he enjoyed creating a warm and friendly atmosphere. According to his mother, he always insisted he was shy, but he wasn't. He enjoyed drama in high school and he loved writing poetry. In this painting, I chose to immortalize not only Daniel’s appearance, but also the last poem he publicly shared.

Made in collaboration with artist, Laurel Temple, to protest the suffering caused by anti-trans and anti-abortion legislation, and to encourage women, trans people, and people with uteruses to help each other and uplift each other, because we are stronger together.

This painting is based on a digital drawing I made for a client who commissioned this painting but then never returned for it. Though they never paid me for the hours I spent making the digital drawing mock-up, I personally loved the design so much that I made the painting anyway, knowing they weren't returning for it. I just know this piece is destined to find a loving home. I mean, how could it not?

From left to right, this painting features: a Black male-presenting person with dreads, geometric neck tattoos, and a nose piercing; a female-presenting two-spirit person whose wavy hair is somewhat tied back via a pair of symmetrical braids, and an Asian lesbian with a hearing aid. Below them and dripping with many skin toned paint, are a series of skin-toned butterflies. Flying playfully above their heads are five butterflies in the transgender pride colors of blue-pink-white-pink-blue. Behind them is a rainbow vanishing into the misty clouds surrounding them. Behind all of that is an abstract background featuring various shades of lavender in homage to the Lavender Menace (a wave of feminism that arose during a time when some feminists were excluding lesbians from feminism, much like how some "feminists" are excluding trans women from feminism today).

I made this digital drawing for a client who wanted a painting for their office. But I hadn't thought to ask for a deposit first and they never returned for the painting. But I personally loved the design so much that I started sharing it publicly, and when others loved it, I began making prints and merchandise, and within one summer, I earned the same income from this sketch that I would have on the commissioned painting. Also, I'm simply very proud of how this digital drawing turned out, considering it was one of my first attempts at using photoshop on my partner's iPad mini.

From left to right, this painting features: a Black male-presenting person with dreads, geometric neck tattoos, and a nose piercing; a female-presenting two-spirit person whose wavy hair is somewhat tied back via a pair of symmetrical braids, and an Asian lesbian with a hearing aid. Below them and dripping with many skin-toned paints, are a series of skin-toned butterflies. Flying playfully above their heads are five butterflies in the transgender pride colors of blue-pink-white-pink-blue. Behind them is a rainbow vanishing into the misty clouds surrounding them. Behind all of that is an abstract background featuring various shades of lavender in homage to the Lavender Menace (a wave of feminism that arose during a time when some feminists were excluding lesbians from feminism, much like how some "feminists" are excluding trans women from feminism today).

Featuring Azrael, a Latine, trans man, wearing a sliding-away golden crown of pawns, and cracking into pieces like porcelain, his own inner strength glittering and leaking out, holding him together, while the missing pieces of him drift away.

Painting of an androgynous Latine person with metal teeth, long nails, piercings, tattoos, scars, and a buzzcut wearing a black hoodie and surrounded by a chain link fence and dripping spray paint as they authentically express themself.

A trans man & trans woman brush lips in my latest drawing.

Love can’t be stopped, gender diversity doesn’t go away. In this drawing, the trans man is still binding even after death, and his transfemme partner still longs for him even though her body no longer exists in the same place as his.

Image Description: a dead/zombified trans man with mandala tattoos, sloughing skin, and a transgender symbol earring brushes lips with a trans woman with an Afro of roses, and a black plug earring and whose body is gone and whose dark skin is dripping like paint.

A father and his transgender daughter hold each other tighter despite the Texas State Capitol attempting to come between them. Mixed Media (watercolor, gouache, acrylic, metallic watercolor) on watercolor paper.

This painting was made as an emotional response to the anti-trans legislation that has been rampaging through the nation, especially in southern states like Texas. I just hope this painting brings someone comfort, and reminds trans kids everywhere that they are loved, strong, and resilient, and that they will get through this.

In this painting a Black transgender man opens up his chest like a superhero to reveal a brick wall covered in layers of graffiti. In this piece, I kept thinking about how our humble beginnings shouldn't be a source of shame. What we've survived and learned are some of our greatest strengths, not things we should feel a need to hide.

Mixed media (watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, acrylic, metallic acrylic) painting featuring famous U.S. transgender model and Filipina immigrant, Geena Rocero.

A watercolor painting featuring a transgender man shortly after top surgery, his entire body radiant with newfound joy and excitement, despite the pain and fatigue of having just had surgery. In his hands, he is holding the drainage bulbs that blood drains into during the first 1-2 weeks after surgery, and still has the surgeon's sharpie markings on his chest.

In the United States, it is common among people who don't have tattoos to stigmatize those who do. In this drawing, I chose to feature a Polynesian, transgender woman with tribal tattoos in a delicate, humanizing, and humble pose to show that people of color and people with tattoos are just as human and therefore capable of gentleness, vulnerability, and integrity, as anyone else.

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