Amanda Mathews & Her Amazing Artwork

Amanda Mathews:

I am lucky enough to have a lot of amazing family & friends who have taken the time to cultivate my interests in art, literature, writing, dance and music over the years. Who have taught me to believe that freedom of expression is everyone’s right, that no elitists can downplay that expression or should be allowed to take it away. I believe that what makes great art is not the technique, the light and shadow or the ability to make a painting look like a photo; it’s the emotion behind the art. If it’s present and palpable, then you’ve created something beautiful.

My own work is influenced by some well known artists like Fernand Leger’s bright colors & rounded shapes, Pablo Picasso’s pure expression of a single moment, Henri Rousseau’s dream like beauty, Faith Ringgold’s folkloric facts, and Jacob Lawrence’s ability to tell a whole story in a single piece.

My work is also inspired & influenced by the group of artists and friends I surround myself with daily. I believe it’s important to cultivate a group of people who will not only support your efforts to grow and learn as an artist & writer, but also to have a free exchange of art and ideas to inspire one another with. So the reaching depth of Nick Rosal, the color and life in Phoenix Smith, the ingeniousness of Shae Sveniker, the curvaceous sexiness of Tony Melendez’s pieces. In regards to writing, the pained beauty of John Survivor Blake, the strength & sexiness of Mahogany Browne, the passion of Christopher Shawn Barker, the boy next door genius of Dain Michael Down, the sharp yet soft words of Molly Kat, and joy and intelligence of Leesah Velasquez (Sick Prose).

I paint watercolor on paper, draw, sculpt and write poetry. My creation process just involves making the time to listen to myself, to write and paint the emotion inside of me. Sometimes I am inspired by the amazing poets at the Nuyorican, sometimes it’s just a phrase or thought passed by on a bus stop advertisement. I believe the important part is just to be open to anything creative, to let it happen, to not be afraid of imperfection, and to consider artistic failures part of the process toward growth. I embrace them; use them as a stepping stone towards better work. You do not need to be Renoir the first day; you only need to be you - working towards being an even greater version of you, and the rest will come.

Amanda's work can be found along the sidebar of this blog and you can join Amanda's Facebook fan page here.