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To order a print featuring the art on the cover of the Art-A-Whirl Directory, Woman in Pink, click here: artbyamandawebster.com/art-a-whirl-print/woman-in-pink
10% of all sales of the print will be donated to NEMAA.

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In march of 2020 I quit painting completely. The world shut down and I was suddenly managing lockdown with two young kids. I was overwhelmed…confused…anxious…scared. The level of uncertainty about what the future held was something I’d never experienced before. And the ONLY way I found ANY relief was getting out into nature. 

Surrounding myself with trees full of songbirds or standing at the edge of an expansive lake or watching butterflies flit in and out of a meadow full of wildflowers was the ONLY thing that, without fail, could calm the racing thoughts that threatened to consume me all the time.

So I did that as often as I could. I absorbed as much of that peace and tranquility as possible before returning home. And I took a LOT of pictures to remember what it felt like – because it was so easy to forget. 

And finally, a year after I’d put my paintbrush down, I picked it up again and began painting using those pictures as reference.

But I was a totally different artist. 

Previously, my work had been mostly figurative or semi-realistic, but I was done with reality. I wanted, instead, to capture the way it felt to be immersed in nature. The peace, the tranquility, the joy and wonder. The feelings that had become so hard to access in any other way. I NEEDED to paint it all. 

So I began abstracting the shapes of nature, playing with color and texture and layers of paint to build paintings that felt more like memories than reality. Paintings that capture what it feels like to be at peace in the natural world, not necessarily what it looks like in reality. 

When you look at my work, I want you to experience your own little escape. I want you to take a deep breath and let go of whatever you’re holding on to. Even if only for a moment. 

I want my work to be a place where you can rest your mind. A place you can visit when you need a dose of joy, wonder, curiosity, peace. 

Most of all, I want to make art that makes you feel good. That makes your home or office a sanctuary. That gives you a moment of relief from all the hard stuff. 

So that’s why I do what I do. 

I truly hope you enjoy my work as much as I enjoy making it.

Come find me on my website at www.artbyamandawebster.com or on Instagram @artbyamandawebster

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Contact me at amanda@artbyamandawebster.com