Amanda Houston
(amandahouston.
com) has a
bachelors in
apparel design
and merchandising
from University
of Vermont and
a graduate degree in textile design from
the Fashion Institute of Technology in New
York City. She worked in product design,
merchandising and marketing at Nike,
L.L.Bean and East Coast Leotard for 17
years before becoming a full-time artist.
She has taken pastel and oil workshops
and now teaches extensively. She’s a
Signature Member of American Women
Artists and the Northwest Pastel Society,
where she serves on the board. She earned
Master Circle status with the International
Association of Pastel Societies. She has
won numerous awards including Best of
Show at the Northwest Pastel Society’s
member show and first place in drawing
at the Sausalito Art Festival. Houston’s
work has been shown in museums and is
represented by several galleries.smallerone.I createda litfieldinback
tobeckontheviewertogoaroundthe
treeandthenupwardstotheclouds,
whichI mademoreluminousthanI
rememberedthem.”
Houstonisconstantlystrivingto
createwell-designed,dramaticpaint-
ingsbyutilizingstrongcontrastsof
valueandcolortemperature,over-
lappingorganicshapes,a varietyof
lost-and-foundedges,andspontane-
ousmarkmaking.Sheconsidersa
well-definedfocalareawithoneor
twootherareasofinterestabsolutely
essential,sotheeyeflowsintoand
aroundthepainting.Whileacknowl-
edgingtheimportanceofgooddesign
principles,Houstonstressesthatit’s
importantforartiststounderstand
whythey’repainting,toask:What’s
themessageI’mtryingtoconvey?Cottonwood Cow Pasture (24x30)“For example, the story of a painting
could be something about a subject
or just a mood,” she says. “Maybe it’s
movement or the light, but it needs to
be clearly about something to capti-
vate one’s attention. My paintings are
mostly about light and atmosphere
and the excitement of those overlap-
ping organic shapes of clouds. I try to
capture that whole dance in the sky.
I find it totally fascinating. It’s my
hope that my skyscapes help people
resonate with all this beauty around
them. I want my paintings to give a
calm, peaceful feeling to people’s over-
scheduled, busy lives, yet be uplifting
at the same time.”ROBERT K. CARSTEN (robertcarsten.com)
is an artist, workshop teacher, exhibitions
juror and arts writer.40 Pastel Journal AUGUST 2019