Amanda Dicken

Many of these portraits are descendants I've only met through photographs, so I wanted to take those images and create a connection to them through a 3-D form of drawing and painting. This attempts to merge the past of where I came from to a visual I created of their story in the present. The drawings on both the portraits and frames are done in a free-flow
style with a fine-tipped Micron pen, then filled in with layers of watercolor and gouache. Sometimes touches of acrylic paint or even pastel are added. Though paper and foam board are not usually considered sturdy, I enjoy the challenge of creating with these materials to make functioning frames capable of hanging on the wall. These frames are sculptural
elements reflecting either the time each photograph was taken, an object I have of theirs, or the personality of the portrait. There are no names associated with these individuals, because
I'd like each viewer to create their own idea of who these people are or were, and invite them
to look deeper into the roots of their own family trees.

Bachelor of Arts Degree, Flagler College, St. Augustine FL 2002
Summer Session, New York Academy of Art, New York, New York, 2001

2017
Amanda Dicken, Solo Show, Downtown Wilson Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA

Amanda Dicken: Paper Roots, Solo Show, Larkin Arts, Wine-Riner Galleries, Harrisonburg, VA

2016
VMRC Juried Show Exhibit, Group Show, VMRC, Harrisonburg, VA

2015
Amanda Dicken: A Matter of Family, Solo Show, Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC

2014
Art of the State/State of the Art Exhibit, Group Show, Contemporary Art Museum, Wilmington, NC

60th Annual Juried Exhibit, Group Show, Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC

Artist Showcase, Group Show, Sertoma Arts Center, Raleigh, NC

Face-to-Face Portraiture Exhibit, Group Show, Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC

Emerging Artist Exhibition (Birds), Group Show, Visual Art Exchange Gallery, Raleigh, NC

Emerging Artist Exhibition (Contour Drawings), Group Show, Visual Art Exchange Gallery, Raleigh, NC

Family Snapshot: Studies in Contour Drawing, Solo Show, The City Gallery, Raleigh, NC

2013
59th Annual Juried Exhibit, Group Show, Durham Art Guild, Durham, NC

N.e.w. Show, Group Show, Visual Art Exchange Gallery, Raleigh, NC

PLAY: Toys & Games, Group Show, Florida Craftsman Gallery, Sarasota, FL

May Artist of the Month, Solo Show, Oak City Tavern, Raleigh, NC

100 for 100, Group Show, CVA...