Downstream Painting

"In nature as in music, there is an intangible quality of beauty that is felt by the deepest recesses of our being. This experience is what fuels my inspiration to create in an attempt to capture in paint, what I experience through my senses. Moreover, my paintings are imbued with a deep appreciation for creation and a love for symbolism and allegory. Through my paintings I hope to give the viewer a glimpse of the world in a new light. " Amy grew up in rural Maryland and spent her free time exploring the forest and creek near her home. She often took her sketchbook and nature guides with her outdoors to sketch and identify the plants and animals she found. At the age of 13, Amy enrolled in weekly watercolor lessons with a locally renowned artist, Rebecca Pearl, and continued these lessons for the next 6 years. During this time, Amy also continued her pursuit of the natural world and dabbled in botany, animal husbandry, and annual neighborhood trash clean-ups that her father organized. Artists are often not only interested in creating beautiful artwork, but also in finding ways to communicate an idea. Amy was no different, and she was fascinated by language as yet another way to communicate. She studied Latin and German at university in addition to studio art and art history. Learning German gave her the opportunity to spend a year at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg in Germany to study art history. During her time in Germany, Amy was introduced to the symbolism of the medieval world and the paintings of the German Romantics, which soon began to find their way into her art. Since graduating with a degree in Studio Art and Art History from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, Amy has studied under a number of other artists in the Washington, D.C. area, including Robert Liberace, Lisa Semerad, and David Carter. Amy herself has had solo exhibits in the D.C. Metro region, including at The Art League Gallery in Alexandria, VA. She has had work juried into highly competitive exhibits across the Eastern Seaboard, and her work graces the walls of collectors throughout the United States and the United Kingdom. Amy currently resides with her husband and three daughters in Virginia and shares her love of art with children, teens and adults by teaching at the Art League School in Alexandria. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, gardening, or having a dance party with her daughters in the living room.