the night of paint boxes

The final two for Depending Upon the Nature of the Beast:

 "to tame by paint"

acrylic on masonite, 9x12"

"the search"

acrylic on masonite, 12x19"

in vintage ornate gold frame with bubble glass

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The opening is TONIGHT from 5 to 8 pm at Three Graces Gallery!

105 Market St.

Portsmouth, NH

There will be food, pretty dresses, a "photo booth" set designed to look like the interior of one of my paintings, all the new pieces, and spring snow on the ground.

I hope that you can come!
xoxox
Amanda

look, how the floor of heaven is thick inlaid with patines of bright gold.

 For Depending Upon the Nature of the Beast:

"the color of choosing"

acrylic on masonite, 20x24"

This is the piece that was inspired by 'the dance of the goldfish' in Fantasia! I had so much fun watching the movement of goldfish and drawing them out on her dress. As opposed to doing a pattern, I made each goldfish different.

Above is a picture of the piece framed, and you can see a couple others framed on the couch, as well.

This piece was too big to scan and had to be photographed. Many thanks to my good friend Sarah Gay for helping me out. :)

xoxo

Amanda

a terrible love of birch bark

 For Depending Upon the Nature of the Beast:

"the year before"

acrylic on masonite, 12x16"

xoxo

Amanda

phases lunaires

For Depending Upon the Nature of the Beast:

"the waxing and waning of you"

acrylic on masonite, 14.5 x 19.5"

The image below inspired the wallpaper of this painting.

I'm off to Portsmouth to hang my show tomorrow! I'll be back with some pictures and will try to post one new painting a day as a countdown to the opening on Friday!

Love,

Amanda

maps autumnal

For Depending Upon the Nature of the Beast:

"my only uncharted territory (adapting to you pt.2)"

acrylic on masonite, 9.5 x 13.5"

Another piece for the show. I hope you're all having a beautiful weekend!

xoxo

Amanda

goldfish ballet

I am working on a painting - one of my last for the show! - that was completely inspired by Fantasia's Goldfish Dance. It's my favorite part of Fantasia.

I love the colors and the way the animators captured the elegance of goldfish.

I scan all my paintings on friday and will have a lot to show you!!

I hope you're all having a beautiful week.

xo

Amanda

an artistic compass

With only days left till the hanging of my show, I am feeling the pressure. For inspiration, I am looking to Mary Blair. She has always seemed like a Patron Saint of Illustrators to me, especially the illustrators who love creating color palettes.

xoxo

Amanda

the color of stars

for depending upon the nature of the beast:

"he surpasses the rest"

acrylic on masonite, 9x12"

a scratchily drawn room of instruments

I love how well 101 Dalmatians captured 1960s London. The details of Roger and Anita's apartment are just stunning. I think out of all the Disney men, Roger was my most practical crush. :)

Also, my show announcement is officially up on the Three Graces site!

xoxo

Amanda

the secret lives of dresses

 Sometimes, lovely women who run vintage shops on etsy ask me if I'd like to do a trade. I could never resist a trade from a beautiful vintage shop. I got this dress from the very kind owner of Secret Agent Girl. I love it so much. I'm bringing it to Europe and I think it might have to be what I wear for when I first encounter the Eiffel Tower. 

Speaking of vintage, I just finished reading The Secret Lives of Dresses by Erin McKean, who runs the dress a day site. It's such a neat book, about a girl who takes over running her grandmother's vintage shop only to discover that her grandmother had written secret lives for every dress in her inventory.

It reminded me especially of this one particular dress I have. It's a light blue house dress from the 50s and one of the first vintage dresses I ever bought. When I got it home, I discovered a small safety pin with a charm of the Virgin Mary pinned to the inside skirt. I've always wondered about the woman who owned it, when and why she pinned Mary to a secret place inside the dress, and if it gave her comfort knowing the pin was there. To me, it makes the dress so much more special.

On another note, for those of you who are worried about the animals in Japan, the HSUS has an international branch that is helping out and open for donations. 

I hope you're all having a wonderful first day of spring!!! Sadly, Boston blocked my view of the moon last night. At least I got a nice walk out of my moon hunt.

xoxoxo

Amanda