We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amanda Howell Whitehurst a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Amanda, appreciate you joining us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.
This may sound like a cliche, but I have been drawing ever since I was a little girl. I remember in elementary school, I used to love making picture books. I think that planted the seed and grew into my love of art. I really started getting into illustrating portraits when I was in high school. There was a point in time that I stopped and ventured into other artistic avenues, I came back to illustration full force, just about 10 years ago. I feel I have learned more now than I did before, because I really took the time to study. Studying proportions, color theory, lighting, and just all the things that would make beautiful portraits helped me improve greatly. Knowing what I know now, I wish I had this mindset back then, when I was in high school. However, I feel things happen in their timing for a reason. I take my art skills more serious now, with my adult eyes and mind. I have a different passion for it, because I know more and have learned more. I see how important it is to practice everyday, by drawing something wether its a quick sketch or full piece. The only obstacles that stood in my way of learning more, was actually trying to learn more. I believe I stood in my on way back then. Once I got serious about it again and I was determined to improve my skills, that desire made learning more something fun and not a chore.
Amanda, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am an illustrator, a painter, and a graphic designer. I love to create portraits that show the beauty, strength, and inspiration of black and brown women. My favorite medium is illustration digitally, however, I also love to paint in oils and acrylics, I am inspired by strong black women, natural black women, black women leaders, and women like me! Wives, mothers, and creatives! I think what sets me apart from others is my style of art, and the fact I like to incorporate motion and music into my pieces. My art evokes a mood, a cozy vibe, with the colors I use and the music that is inspired by those pieces.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
I have been so blessed with the opportunities I was given thus far, because of my art. Things I never thought would happen to me. However, there are places I want to see my work. I want the licensing deal with Target, or to see my art on a Hallmark card, and to see one of my paintings in a gallery. I am always setting goals for myself, consistently. It helps me to stay motivated, it helps me to continue to work hard, and it continues to help me build my skills.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
One piece of art advice that I was given that always stuck with me was to trust the process. I wouldn’t trust my abilities and I felt that, in some moments, not trusting myself had held me back. Once I grasped this concept, I was comfortable attacking any kind of illustration. I was drawing things that I thought I couldn’t or shied away from. Now, I trust that I can draw whatever I want or paint whatever I want! So my advice is to definitely, trust the process, trust yourself, don’t give up, and keep working. You learn as you keep practicing and exercising your skills. Look back and see how far you have come, then you will see that all that work was worth it!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.amandahowellwhitehurst.com
- Instagram: @amacieforever
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandawhitehurst/
- Other: www.amaciedesignstudio.com