We recently connected with Amy Runyen and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The body of work I am currently making is the most important to me so far. I became a mother for the first time over 14 years ago and that huge life shift inspired a new body of work that centers on motherhood, the cycle of life, and our relationship to it.
My new work dove tailed nicely with my past work because I’ve always enjoyed painting animals and exploring the similarities of how humans and animals experience life on this planet. My past bodies of work explored various behaviors we share with animals in an effort to make empathetic connections with them, and to see ourselves in that animalistic context. I think that we humans have spent so many generations distancing ourselves from nature that we have lost sight of the fact that we are still just highly intelligent animals. We have so much to gain from being more connected to nature and the other animals who live here, so I like to explore these relationships in my work. What things do we have in common with some of these other species? What can those things tell us about ourselves?
Now I’ve focused my lens on motherhood because it is the most important role in my life. Also, maturing into middle age, I’ve been thinking a lot about not taking the astonishing beauty of life for granted. I recently lost people close to me, people who would have loved to experience more of the wonder that this life has to offer, and I find great meaning in creating work that celebrates the magic of the cycles of life on earth.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

“Artist” one of the first labels I easily accepted about myself. I grew up with a mild form of dyslexia (which I grew out of, thankfully) and a fiery contempt for math (which I have not grown out of). So, school was a struggle in the early days. However, I always excelled in my art classes.
I grew up in East Country San Diego in a rural area. If I wasn’t making art, my days were spent out of doors, in the dirt, up a tree, or on horseback. I went to Catholic school for nine years and that influenced so many aspects of how I see the world, from social justice issues to aesthetics.
I was fortunate to have an excellent high school art program (shout out to Mr. Fish!). I also had talented art friends at that time that went on to be accomplished artists. Those things helped launch me to the next level in studio art. I went to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah GA in the mid 90s and earned my BFA in illustration. Later, I earned my MFA in drawing and painting from Cal State, Long Beach. Now, I am a studio artist focusing on oil painting and works on paper. I’m also a full-time college art professor, teaching painting, two-dimensional design, and color theory at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, CA.
The things I am most proud of professionally is the high level of academic experience I try to provide for my students and the body of work I am currently making. I feel as though I have gotten to a place in my studio practice where I am not over editing what I make. Of course, I think about what I am doing and why, but I allow for a lot more discovery and less self-judgment than I used to and with that has come a body of work that resonates with me more than ever. Working with animal imagery, nature, and my own body is a way to make the work both highly personal, and universal at the same time and I am proud of this sweet spot I have found. As a mom to two kids and a full-time professor, I’m proud that I am still making studio work at all. It’s very hard to find the time and headspace to be creative after all my responsibilities are handled, but I am still doing it, albeit slowly.
Currently, I am on sabbatical and have time to make more work and get involved in more professional art activities which will help me be a more useful resource to my students when I return to the classroom.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Doing what I love to do almost every day and self-discovery! I mean, what else are we doing here if it’s not to play and try to level up?
I love that making work in the studio is not only fun and delightful, but it can also be a great place to work out your ideas and positions on important topics. I love that each time I go into the studio, I have time to think, problem solve or do neither and just listen to music or a podcast and respond in paint to what I am looking at.
The act of making art is very satisfying on its own. It calms my monkey mind and it feels good to be productive. It also makes me feel like I have something to show for my life. I love my kids and my life experiences, but making artwork makes me feel like I exist in a way that other things don’t. It makes me feel relevant, regardless of whether or not I actually am in the grand scheme of things.
I used to make work that was a criticism of things that I felt were unjust. My focus was using my art to critique societal ills and that worked for me for a time as a form of catharsis. But now, I am far more excited about contributing something of beauty to the world and that motivation on its own is highly rewarding.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Supporting artists can mean physically going to see shows in galleries and museums, buying work/merch/prints directly from them, and promoting artwork you like! Share it to your stories, help spread the word. Celebrate artwork that inspires you by talking about it and posting about it. Vote for politicians who will fund the arts. Take that art class you always wanted to take and learn something new.
Be more positive about the lifestyle of an artist. Yes, it can be hard work that isn’t automatically lucrative, but that is true of a lot of professions. Look around you and see all of the positive contributions to life that are brought to us by artists and designers. We are a huge part of what makes culture, culture. When people travel abroad, they’re usually doing so to see the art and architecture of those lands (amongst a few other things), not their accounting ledgers.
The work of creatives throughout time defines who we are as a human species and that’s important. So, keeping that in mind when discussing the lives and the work of artists and designers is paramount to being supportive.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.amyrunyen.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amyrunyen/?hl=en

Image Credits

All images are taken by me or were paid for an the rights retained by me. Art Works Fine Art Publishing took the four of the images.