At 99-years-old, Gerry Reed debuts as ArtPrize's likely oldest artist

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — There's one ArtPrize piece inside Monroe Community Church in Grand Rapids that shows art does not have an age limit.

The artist is a woman who picked up painting in her 90s. And now, at 99 years old, Gerry Reed is proving it’s never too late to start something new.

“I am 99 years old. I will be 100 in May,” said Reed.

At nearly a century old, Reed is likely the oldest artist featured in this year’s ArtPrize. Her piece is entered as part of a collaborative exhibit from Beacon Hills retirement home called Ageless Art.

Her watercolor painting began with a simple photograph from her Lake Michigan cottage.

“It was a photograph that I took on my phone,” said Reed.

“The watercolor was a completely new experience. I hadn't ever done any watercolors,” said Reed.

She d