Inside the Studio: Amanda Houston.

Creating art takes more than talent and inspiration, it takes time and space.  Every artist’s space is as unique as the art they create.  And that’s what makes the FREE Washington County Open Studios tour unique, too.  You get to visit the artist and see them create in their studios across Washington County. 

Today, you can get a quick inside look into one of our 41 artists on this year’s tour.  As well as an insight into their art process and what you might see on our tour, October 17^th  and 18^th.

Tell us a little about  your studio,  Amanda.

“My studio is located in the country about 10 minutes south of downtown Hillsboro, in an historic hunting lodge that we live in and have been remodeling for the past ten years. It is perched on a 30 acre knoll with a 360 degree view overlooking the Willamette Valley,  rolling pastoral scenes of farmland and vineyards, Mt. Hood to the east and the coastal range to the west). Our private 30 acres is farmed yearly by local farmers and has over an acre of perennial gardens and a pool on the property on which to stroll and enjoy. It is a destination place and if the weather is nice, we have done wine tastings in the past.”

Amanda, when you begin your work, what inspires you and/or gets you going?

“The vistas around my house are very inspiring but I am drawn more how the light of a subject than to the subject itself.” 

How did you find your way to art in spite of any obstacles in your path, Amanda?

“My mother was an oil painter when I was young.  I went on to study apparel design and worked as a Product Designer and Merchandiser for almost 20 years before having kids and giving fine art a try. I took some local pastel classes for fun and was hooked. In the past 10 years, I have taken numerous workshops to perfect my craft and now teach classes and show at national shows.”

 

Amanda, do you work with any weird, different material or techniques and how does that inspires you?

“As the former Innovation Director at Nike, my mind constantly wants to try new things. With a love for copper and copper sculpture I tried using Copper as my surface ground to work on and spent about a year perfecting a technique to get the pastel to stick to the copper. Pastel on copper is unique to me and I now produce about 30% of all my work on copper.  I also work on a variety of pastel papers and paint in the traditional format of oil on canvas.”

When people come to your studio, what will you be doing, Amanda?

“Depending on the crowd, I may be showing my process on copper or finishing a larger work on paper on my easel or just answering questions and processing orders.”

See Amanda’s art and get inspired October 17 and 18 from 11am to 5pm during the Washington County Open Studios tour.  Get a FREE tour map and information online at www.washcoart.org