Collection: Amanda McLenon

 

  

Amanda creates paintings of wildlife and strives to highlight the beauty found in the daily rituals and moments that might otherwise seem mundane. She is particularly in love with large wading birds. One might say it is because she has a background in biology, but Amanda claims it is likely the other way around.  Amanda's passion for the natural world, as well as her desire to understand it are what drove her to her studies. She began her career as a high school science teacher and completed her second master’s degree in marine biology at the College of Charleston. A chance experiment with paint led Amanda to art, and she has found it to be a much more effective way to convey her emotional connection to the natural world.  Her recent focus is creating larger-than-life birds on canvas, in motion, flying and preening.

 

Amanda has travelled the world and collected photographs and experiences that are constant inspiration. She paints oil on canvas and employs various media to “loosen” the paint and allow it to flow like water, or to create textures and structure to represent the feathers. Her brushstrokes are gestural and convey motion. Backgrounds are simple and allow the bird to be the focus, and although the birds are accurate, they are also impressionistic. She also uses metal leaf as a way to elevate the perceived status of the bird, reminiscent of historic iconography. Amanda strives for her paintings to convey not just how she, as an artist, sees the world, but how she feels the world.

 

Amanda hopes these paintings encourage you to pause, to consider, and to preserve the natural world around you.