Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica-Michelle Amador.
Hi Erica-Michelle, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Well as a small child, I’ve always loved art and wanted to be a “real artist”. I took art classes all throughout the time I was in middle/high school. After high school, my original plan was to leave for college to study visual arts, but things didn’t go as planned at the time. I got a regular job, started a family, and carried on a normal life….everything was great but I felt like my life was missing something. I started to notice how unhappy I was becoming because I wasn’t allowing myself to be my whole self…..I was just focused on being a mom. One day I was cleaning up my 3-year-old son’s room and decided it needed new wall decor and thought, “Why not paint something myself for his room?” I bought a few art supplies and slowly started drawing out a lightsaber on a canvas. (my son was a bit of a Star Wars fan at the time).
That whole process of laying down the sketch, to picking up a paintbrush reignited my passion for art. So many emotions fluttered through my mind…it was my Ah-Ha! moment. I had spent almost 4 years not creating any art. And at that moment, after completing my first piece of work in years, I felt whole again.
So time goes on, I’m working a full time job and painting on the side as a hobby. I started taking commissions and slowly started to see how I was growing as an artist. I then decided to take my artwork more seriously after getting laid off. “It’s never too late to follow your dreams”. I started networking with other artists in the art community here in Houston and book art shows/pop ups to showcase my work.
Although my journey as an artist is just starting, I don’t ever see it stopping.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
When pursuing your dreams, the road will always be bumpy. Life and family issues happen. There were a few times when I wanted to give up and go back to just focusing solely on my family because I thought I wasn’t good enough or life was just getting too much in the way.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a freelance Visual Artist. The majority of my work is commissioned paintings of portraits and fan art. I specialize in acrylic paint, currently learning how to work with oil paints. I’m most proud of my artwork of Spawn. I’m a huge fan of Todd McFarland and Spawn. That painting actually took me a very long time to complete. It’s seen many changes and while doing that piece, I learned a lot. It really challenged me to see how far I could go into detail with paint at the time. I think what sets me apart from others is the level of detail in my paintings. I’m self-taught so I take each painting as its own learning experience. With each piece of work, I always look at what I need to improve on and where my weakness is.
How do you think about happiness?
My 2 sons and my art make me happy. I’m a mother first and an artist second. Life doesn’t feel complete without either of them. There are days when my kids go off to spend time with their father and I feel sad because they’re my little best friends and make life exciting every day. And then there are days when I don’t work on my art. Art is my therapy. It helps release stress. but both my children and my art help fuel me to be better in general.
Pricing:
- $50-$70 (8×10 in. canvas)
- $70-$100 (11x14in. canvas)
- $120-$200 (16x20in. canvas)
- $300-500 (24x36in. canvas)
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/im.ericamichelle/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artbyericamichelle
Image Credits
Ice Cube
Jeremy Peña
Todd McFarland
