We were lucky to catch up with Amanda Lovett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, thanks for joining us today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your creative career sooner or later?

There have been times I wish I had started sooner, and perhaps focused more in a specific area, but the reality is, had I done so, I wouldn’t have near the life experience from which to pull. Every blessing I’ve been given, every trial and tribulation I’ve lived through, every journey I have taken has greatly contributed to how I develop my work. For example, after having spent 20 plus years working in the field of graphic design, primarily focusing in the area of layout and design, I now find my best compositions are derived more from instinct than overthinking. I would relate it to the muscle memory a guitarist develops over time. It doesn’t mean I don’t continue to grow, and hopefully expand my creativity, it simply means I can trust the decisions my subconscious makes and shift my focus on to more complex areas of painting.

When I began to paint horses, having grown up around them most of my youth, I was amazed at how much I already understood about their anatomy and behavior. This gave me a certain edge in my ability to portray them correctly.

Then there’s the experience I bring to my work from my background in construction. Yes, I have a very interesting and diverse background. When I paint barns, old farm houses and other aspects of the disappearing landscape, I have found that by utilizing my basic ‘builders’ knowledge, I am able to actually reconstruct physically collapsed structures and artistically resurrect the past.

So, my answer to this question would have to be no. I feel I am more successful in what I do, and appreciate it more, because of the life that led me to it.

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 have always known there was some sort of creative field in my future, but I had very little exposure to the art world per se until high school. Even then, as far as jobs, the only fields I was aware of in the arts were teaching and advertising. As soon as I graduated, I went straight to the Atlanta Portfolio Center, where I studied Art Direction, Graphic Design, Photography and Illustration. From there, I joined the advertising firm of McDonald and Little as an Art Director at the young age of 19. I gained invaluable experience and education in the position, which gave me the confidence to start my own agency when McDonald and Little was later purchased and moved to New York.

In 1998, I attended a watercolor landscape class with Frank Broadhurst, who I credit for starting me on my path as a painter. In 2004, after recently switching my focus to oils, I made the commitment to become a full-time professional artist.

I have been fortunate to study under some of the country’s top professionals and have continued my education at every opportunity. My excitement for learning ultimately led me to becoming a teacher myself. I have had the good fortune to teach workshops at venues across the southeast, highlighting a curriculum I have developed with the purpose of building the core skills necessary for artist growth at any level.

I have been accepted into numerous national and regional shows and organizations, and have earned my Signature Status with Oil Painters of America and American Women Artists. I was also named, in 2020, one of the “11 Artists to Collect Now: The Emerging Plein Air Painters You Need to Know,” in the October/November issue of Plein Air Magazine. You can see a list of more of my accomplishments on my web site at www.amandalovett.com under About the Artist.

I am currently represented in several art galleries across the country and also sell a great deal of my work through my website and social media. I enjoy doing specialty commissions and have developed a system of taking my client’s particular needs and working with them in a way that maintains the creative energy for the best possible results.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

A couple of years ago I was participating in a plein air competition. The week hadn’t started out as one of my best, but I had found a new location I was excited about painting and hoped that excitement would turn things around. I lugged my gear to my subject matter (an interesting, old barn), set up, and began developing my composition. Then all of a sudden, there was a loud clap of thunder and the bottom dropped out. Frantically grabbing my things, I darted toward that ‘interesting, old barn’ and stood, somewhat out of breath, inside the very thing I wanted to paint.

“Seriously?” I asked the pouring rain just outside the door. “Okay, what now?”

I checked out my new surroundings only to turn and see the most interesting composition I had seen all week- the light hitting the inside of the barn, leading my eye to a beautifully muted view of the farmhouse outside the barn door. I quickly set up my easel and started painting. It was amazing, things were going great, I was feeling inspired. Then, about half way through my painting, the property caretaker stopped by to tell me she would have to close the gates on the barn in about ten minutes. She did add that I was welcome to stand outside the barn. Did I mention it was raining?

Thank heavens I had started by painting the inside of the barn first and was able to quickly finish that part up; not exactly as I had intended, but still, it had a nice feel to it. Since it was still raining, I set up my umbrella. It would either cover me or my easel, so of course, the easel got priority. I went for it and tried to remember how it looked viewing it from inside the barn. By the time I finished, the rain had nearly stopped, and I was able to get everything back to my truck and the painting framed for the show.

Believe it or not, I so enjoyed painting that piece. It gave me the pick-me-up I needed, and I ended the week with several very nice paintings. The biggest bonus was, not only did the barn painting, which I named “Inside Out”, sell at the event, it managed to take “Best of Show.” It turned out to be a great week after all.

There’s nothing unusual about the environment changing, your subject matter ‘walking away’, or unforeseen interruptions altering your course when you’re painting plein air, but it’s the tenacity you show by not packing up your toys and going home that makes the difference. I’ve learned that if I persist, and simply go with some of the ‘changing’, ‘walking’ and ‘altering’, that’s when some of my best work can be revealed.

What do you find most rewarding about being creative?

Well let’s see… I love waking up mornings excited about getting to be creative and wondering what mystery will unfold on my canvas. I like knowing I have a job where hard work, persistence and determination actually pay off. I could go on and on listing rewarding aspects of being an artist, but at the end of the day, I would have to say the greatest reward lies with the people I have met and the connections I have made. Some of those connections are brief and others feel they will last a lifetime.

I was so excited the first time I had someone walk up to one of my paintings and express a rapport with something I had created. There was a tie between that canvas and an important moment in their life. They actually shared with me that the work brought back fond memories and reminded them, quite specifically, of all the summers they spent at their grandpa’s farm. I quickly realized my interest in painting was deeply based in storytelling and a desire to record the moment. Here I was, going along, basically painting my own personal story in bits and pieces. I started experiencing incredible moments with folks from all walks of life only to discover that no matter how different we may seem, we all have so much in common.

My creative journey has included a wide variety of events, locations and environments, exposing me to a broad range of people interested in and involved with art. I have enjoyed the company of fellow artists, patrons and enthusiasts. And my students, where do I begin? I so love being able to share in their journey.

Yes, there are many aspects of my decision to follow a creative path for which I am very grateful, but the people I have met and the connections I have made shine the brightest in my mind and my heart.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amandalovett.com/
• Instagram: amandalovettart
• Facebook: @ALovettFineArt ·