Learn to simplify the landscape and your process so you can dive into your unique artistic voice. What mood or emotion do you really want to convey? Discover what your particular roadblocks are and learn to manage them so you can let go, be free, do YOU and have more fun. Amanda will dive into it all, from the neurological process of creativity to building your artistic eye and skills sets to become a better painter. All of Amanda’s courses are grounded in the fundamentals of strong design and composition. She will review values, shapes, color, and mark making as well as demo her favorite techniques and principles on a variety of different surfaces using the pastel medium. Plan to leave with a collection of small landscape paintings and find your joy.
Some pastel experience preferred.
As a child living in Africa and Saudi Arabia, she remembers watching her mother paint oil landscapes as a hobby. Both her parents were educators and encouraged her to follow her creative passion. Amanda was educated in New England and holds a B.S. in Apparel Design & Merchandising from University of Vermont and a graduate degree in Textile Design from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She was L.L. Bean’s first Apparel Designer in the 80’s, Nike’s first Apparel Innovation Director in the 90’s and then helped launch Nike’s first e-commerce business (www.Niketown.com) during the dot-com boom.
After almost 20 years of corporate America, traveling, designing, and merchandising sports apparel for big global brands, she found she was creating less and managing more. In 2004 she took the leap, embraced motherhood and allowed the artist in her to finally come out. “I knew I wanted to be an artist when I retired, but I didn’t want to wait until I was 65 to start.” Amanda has been painting and refining her evolving voice ever since. She has been teaching and mentoring others nationally and internationally since 2016.
She is a Master’s Circle Member of IAPS (International Assoc. of Pastel Societies) and the current President and Signature member of the NW Pastel Society. She participates in national shows as a member of the American Women Artists, American Impressionist Society and Pastel Society of America. She has won numerous national awards and is collected internationally. She is nationally published by Editions Limited Inc. and is seen throughout the nation in the hospitality industry. She is represented by Cole Gallery in Edmonds, WA, Scott Milo in Anacortes, WA and Valley Art in Forest Grove, OR. She works with private clients, art brokers, interior designers, as well as two winery tasting rooms in Oregon, (Penner Ash Wine Cellars and Colene Clemens Vineyards).
She lives in the foothills of Willamette Valley wine country in an old historic hunting lodge near Hillsboro, OR on 30 glorious acres overlooking vineyards and rolling cultivated with her black lab and cat where she has built a workshop space for art classes and Creativity Retreats. She is devoted to guiding others to find their creative voice and inner joy.
Growing up on three continents, Amanda Houston has been inspired by much of the world. She now lives on 30 breath-taking acres in Cornelius, O.R. capturing the beauty of the landscapes that surround her.
