Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Zappler.
Hi Amanda, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Hello everyone! My name is Amanda Zappler and I am an artist living and working in Central TX.
I have thrived on being creative since an early age and pursued knowledge about techniques and tools for artist expression which have been gifts throughout my life. I am inspired by everyday existence and enjoy bringing beauty into the world.
I use art as a means of self-expression. I paint to better understand my reality, and to express my interpretation of the world around me. I also create art to open the unexplored world- a place for curious self-expression, but also a world of new relationships, new chances, new beginnings, and most importantly new stories.
Some of my artistic influences include Modigliani, Cezanne and Chagall. I am also a huge fan of Klimt, Kandinsky and Klee.
There is immeasurable pleasure (for me) derived from painting and drawing. A unique sentiment is inscribed into each image I create. I present my thoughts and feelings of and about this world through the filter of color and whimsy. I manipulate pigment and media to showcase my ideas and dreams and transform them through pattern and texture.
My art features imagined scenes of whimsical people, animals and places and has a story-book quality to it. I draw inspiration from the past and present; things possible as well as impossible.
My artwork varies in category, style and technique. I primarily use gouache, pen, pastel and acrylics on a variety of surfaces. I love the bright colors and rich textures that occur when mediums are combined.
I wish for my art to convey a sense of hopefulness and joy. I experience so much pleasure from painting that it is my desire to pass a bit of this along to the viewer. I believe that art should be accessible to everyone; the visual, conceptual and financial attributes of my work reflect this passion. I create art to share. When a piece of my artwork brings a smile to someone as they pass by, I feel that I have been successful!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Art is and has always been my key to the secret garden, my way down the rabbit hole, my looking glass. I began drawing and painting to illustrate stories that I wrote as a young child. Art is what has gotten me through life’s ups and downs.
I grew up in a very poor household. There was not money for art supplies in the family budget. However, as a teenager, I attended a public charter school for visual and performing arts in Chicago where I was fortunate enough to have very instrumental teachers who prioritized my creative growth and made certain I had tools to work with.
I escaped much of the turbulence of being an angst-ridden teenager through my art. I spent many hours at the Art Institute in Chicago gazing at the masterpieces on the walls, rather than attending my academic classes! I like to think that I absorbed some of the lessons of this craft by spending so much time in that awe-inspiring museum surrounded by the masters for countless hours. During high school, the only classes I really paid any attention to were art, dance, and theater. I simply wasn’t interested in anything else. After high school, I went to NYC and attended the Joffrey School of Ballet as an understudy.
I became a parent for the first time at an early age, and my visual and performing arts passions took a back seat to working, raising two spectacular daughters, and putting myself through school in order to achieve a doctorate in the allied health profession of audiology. I painted sparingly as a young mother, during kids’ naps and on rare weekends when there was downtime.
My kids and I took advantage of every art/music/dance event we could find as they were growing up. Each time I thought about art, or had time to create art of my own, I felt renewed and recharged.
For the past 18 years, I have been able to prioritize my passion for the arts and nourish my interest in painting and illustration. I have attended classes at Laguna Gloria Art School, the University of Texas Informal Arts program and Austin Community College Arts Program.
I am an introvert by nature. It is challenging for me to get out there and pursue the business side of the art world. I have created a business website, engaged in numerous art markets and displayed art in local businesses in and around Austin for the past 7 years. I have even begun to hang my art in local galleries. Over time, I have become more savvy and developed self confidence in speaking with gallerists, collectors and venue coordinators.
I have loved every minute of being an artist and pursuing my dream of making a living as a creative, but make no mistake-work has happened! I am always striving to improve my skill sets as an artist through practice and experimentation.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am inspired by everyday existence and enjoy bringing beauty into the world. I use art as a means of self-expression. I paint to better understand my reality, and to express my interpretation of the world around me.
I also create art to open the unexplored world- a place for curious self-expression, but also a world of new relationships, new chances, new beginnings, and most importantly new stories.
I get excited by color, always!! I have been blessed with opportunities to tell stories about people who have been marginalized by their differences. I am most proud of being asked to contribute illustrations to two books written by amazing people with abilities that set them apart. I have had the distinct pleasure of illustrating personal histories presented as juvenile literature for a runner with Down Syndrome and an artist with Autism.
My art is whimsical in nature, filled with vibrant color and imaginative interpretations of nature and life.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
I welcome collaboration with others! I am available for book illustration, commissioned paintings, pet portraits, children’s art and interior mural work.
Contact Info:
- Email: a.zappler@gmail.com
- Website: www.arteparalavida.info
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/arte_para_la_vida
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/arteparalavida1
