Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Oswald.
Amanda, we’d love to hear your story and how you got to where you are today both personally and as an artist.
I’ve always dabbled with artsy things, been crafty, doodled, and made random paintings and drawings. I got art supplies from Santa every year and visited the art museums in Balboa Park with my Dad and sister to sketch. However, it was not until 2015 when I found myself in the hospital and out on disability due to Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia, and unable to go back to working full-time, that I picked up a paint brush with intention. I suddenly had more time on my hands and wasn’t sure what to do with it that would still allow me to heal and not be stressful to my body. I found a community painting class through MiraCosta Community College and was hooked. In the fall of 2017, after getting married and debating what I wanted to do with my life, I decided to pursue art full time. I owe a lot to my husband, family and friends, the Art Department at MiraCosta Community College, and Backfence Society in Vista for all of their support, patience and encouragement, and I feel so lucky and blessed to be able to do what I love every day.
We’d love to hear more about your art. What do you do you do and why and what do you hope others will take away from your work?
My art is full of bright and vibrant colors, and I like to think of it as happy art. I paint with acrylic paint, making abstract, still life, figurative, landscape and cat art paintings. I love making abstract paintings with a palette knife, experimenting with the paint, combining colors, texture and feelings that release stress and emotion. Every time I paint, I feel like I breathe better. My favorite painting days are sitting at my painting desk with rain coming down outside, without planning, picking out the colors that resonate with me that day, just experimenting, and seeing what the paint can do. I feel connected to each painting I create, and I hope when people view my art that they feel peace, calm, warmth and like a weight is lifted off them, that it reaches them on some level. My art and painting are therapeutic for me.
What do you think it takes to be successful as an artist?
If you had asked me a few weeks ago what success is for an artist, I would have said selling paintings, and making money selling my art. But the farther I go on this journey, I am continuing to learn about myself, my limitations and what feels right. For me, success is more of a feeling rather than something tangible that you can measure with sales and money. It’s a feeling: how I feel about my art, how my art makes others feel, the glow of watching people smile when they first see my art. It is not about money or followers or the fast and crushing hype that seems to fill the art world (though it is all too easy to get carried away in it).
For artists to be successful, the most important thing is to just believe in yourself. Have courage. I’ve learned that incredible things can happen just by asking. Like people say, you never know until you ask. Some of the most amazing opportunities in my art journey thus far have happened just from me having the courage and confidence to ask. I encourage anyone who is pursuing something they are passionate about to just keep believing in themselves, and as cliché as it sounds, be true to yourself—listen to your inner compass to find your true north and don’t sell yourself out or short in hopes of keeping up with fast moving crowd. First and foremost: your art has to be for you.
Do you have any events or exhibitions coming up? Where would one go to see more of your work? How can people support you and your artwork?
I regularly post my art, pictures of my process, and works in progress to my Instagram account @dreamingamanda, and my Etsy store online amandaoswaldart.etsy.
People can support my work by following me on social media, sharing my posts, sharing my art, telling their friends and family about my art, purchasing paintings or other merchandise I have available when they connect with it, and keeping me in mind for art commissions and custom pet portraits.
Contact Info:
- Website: amandaoswaldart.etsy.com
- Email: dreamingamanda@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dreamingamanda/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/amandaoswaldart
Image Credit:
Amanda Oswald
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