Edward and Frank

Tonight I did something very different. After viewing an amazing exhibit at the AGO I was inspired to recreate two amazing characters. Using black and white with a splash of colour. Sometimes doing something different and working outside of our comfort zone can teach us things we didn’t know, you push boundaries and hopefully become a better artist. Each painting took 1 hour or less, speed paintings. I had lots of fun here!

SNL Papyrus

Can't stop thinking about this hilarious SNL skit with Ryan Gosling, For all of us picky about type, PAPYRUS!!!


http://eachvideo.com/watch?v=jVhlJNJopOQ

Paint once more but with feeling!

I attempted a painting last night and my heart wasn't fully in it, this week had some hardships and I approached a painting the wrong way. I was really unhappy with it, and thought how did I go so wrong. Sometimes in the beginning stage of a painting we see something that isn't done and looks off and we feel discouraged and start to lose hope. We put ourselves down and doubt ourselves. When you take a step back and few it from a different angle, approach it with a different frame of mind, and allow your brush stokes to be loose and fast, or slow and approached with a bit of care in other areas. You start to feel and fall in love with your painting. Some things take time, we aren't perfect and neither is the creative process. Art can be very therapeutic, but like therapy you have to give in, and give it your all to get anything out of it.

Modern Mississauga

It's a great feeling when you are going through the news and find an article about the art show you are in plus a picture of one of your paintings! Check out the article about Arts on the Credit Tour and see a picture of my Love Swans painting!

https://www.modernmississauga.com/main/2017/9/11/the-2017-arts-on-the-credit-tour

Known for....

I was at Fan Expo last weekend and my artist friends inspired me to create something to display at my art shows. If you see an artist at a show for the first time you don't know them or their background, reputation and previous work. So why not create a board to spark conversation! You will be more likely to show interest in, support and invest in someone once you have made that connection.

As for me I have just won 3rd place at Visual Arts Mississauga's Beyond! Exhibit for my piece Sunset at Rhododendron Gardens! A piece I love and I am proud of.  I also have a great background in the animation industry working on many fantastic projects that I have just loved! I have created, modelled, surfaced, rigged.... numerous characters, props and environments on many popular shows! Animation is a challenging and fantastic industry to be a part of!

Let's get some conversation going!

Instagram amanda_shotton

Want an easy way to check out my artwork. I upload quick pics here www.instagram.com/amanda_shotton/


Enjoy!

Fall Shows

Tonight I sit here, wiring up and prepping some of my new pieces to get them ready for my upcoming shows this month. So proud of these paintings. They each challenged me in their own way, and they evoke thoughts and feelings and remind me of how beautiful life can be.

In 2012, I was in a traumatic car accident, and one thing that has helped me in my recovery was being outside with nature. Nature makes your problems and stresses seem smaller, beautiful views and peaceful moments can create a sense of calm and mindfulness.

Sept 17th 10am-4pm Art in the Park, at Riverwood

Sept 23-24 Arts on the Credit Tour

Fall is coming

Fall is coming, a season we all have mixed emotions about. We dread the end of summer, when the days get shorter, the weather unpredictable and the wind brings a cold chill. It's a season of change, often the start of school for many, a chance to grow as a person, a chance to move on and embrace something new. As we grew and think about the future the trees also begin to change, first one leaf then many and soon our landscape is a beautiful array of colours! I use to dread fall now I embrace change and take the time to appreciate the beauty that fall brings!

The Path
10"x8"
Acrylic on Canvas
2017

YellowTree
10"x8"
Acrylic on Canvas
2017

Yellow Tree - Balance
10"x8"
Acrylic on Canvas
2017

Dark Lake - Reflection

Dark Lake - Reflection
24"x20"
Acrylic on canvas
2017

On a clear summers day, when the lake is calm and the water is still, you can see everything clearly. This was a special moment I had while stand up paddle boarding on Dark Lake in Ontario. We are so lucky in Canada to be surrounded by so many gorgeous lakes. Had a lot of fun painting this piece!

WIP - stage 1, painting the base colour and sketching in chalk the composition

WIP - stage 2, land and sky are starting to come together

Dark Lake - Reflection - final piece

learn the rules, so you can break them

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”

― Pablo Picasso

A great quote, one of my animation school teachers would always say you need to know the rules in order to break them. I feel like that is true is so many things. I love art since it challenges you, you study and learn, through trial and error, through watching and learning from others. Life experiences change you, and how you see things. Learn the rules, so as an artist you can break them and find your own unique stye.

prints for sale

Finally started creating my online shop, a few of my prints are online for purchase. I am doing limited edition runs of only 50 prints. These prints are on museum quality paper, they will last 200-300 years with proper care!

If there is something you want and don't see let me know, I will be constantly updating and adding prints/originals as I go!

ashotton.ca/shop

Snapd North Mississauga

Congrats to all of those who participated in the Beyond! Exhibit, we have been snapd by North Mississauga. I won third place for my painting "Sunset at Rhododendron Gardens".

https://northmississauga.snapd.com/events/view/1053461

Snapd South Mississauga

Thank you Snapd Mississauga for capturing my art show at Port 1 Café!! Look for me in the August issue of Snapd South Mississauga page 7!

My next shows are Sept 17 VAMs Art in the park (I will be in the main gallery)
Sept 23-24 Art on the credit Tour (exact location to be announced soon!)

https://southmississauga.snapd.com/events/view/1068019

Yellow Tree

Yellow Tree 
2017 
Acrylic on canvas 
10"x8" 

Saw this gorgeous tree last fall at Jack Darling Park, it was one of the first trees to change colour. 

Award winning artist!

Proud to say that I am now an award winning artist! I just won 3rd place at Visual Arts Mississauga's Beyond! Exhibit for my piece "Sunset at Rhododendron Gardens". Artwork from 31 artists are at this special exhibit, my piece is up on display at Mississauga Central Library until August 27th. I do have prints available for sale, please contact me at amanda@ashotton.ca for details.

Arts on the Credit Tour

I have been selected to be one of the artists this year!
Please check it out http://artsonthecredit.ca/arts-on-the-credit-tour/

lillies

Just finished this one.

Lillies
Acrylic on canvas
12x12"
2017

I grew these beautiful flowers last summer, and seeing them in bloom was beautiful! I love how colourful and vibrant nature can be!

new art show!

New art show date coming up, I will have my newest artwork up, with originals and prints for sale :)

Love Swans

Had a great night at Port 1 Café in port credit on saturday! It's great when you can find the perfect cafe, for not only great coffee, but people watching, and idea generating. I had so many great ideas. After caffeinating and sketching, i went home completely inspired and was up for hours creating a new piece (also I blame and thank coffee for the amount of energy I had at the late hours). This was inspired by two swans I watched in port credits credit river. Breathtaking.

Happy sketching everyone! Get your ideas, thoughts and feelings on paper and see where it goes.

Despair

Despair
12"x16"
Acrylic on canvas
2017

This painting is based on the beautiful sculpture by mississauga's celebration square. It made me stop and pause, and think about times when I have felt this way.

facebook page

check out my Facebook page, I post a lot more often on it, you can find work in progress and finished pieces, as well as show dates :)

www.facebook.com/AShottonArtist/

wip

There is this sculpture near Mississauga square, and sincerely to the artist who created it, it's beautiful and breathtaking. I absolutely love it. Conveys so many emotions and thoughts for me. I had to paint it. this is my work in progress.

Stronger Together

One of my new favourite paintings

Stronger together
2017
Acrylic on canvas
24" x 24"

Love watching the water crash against the rocks by the lake. And these beautiful trees supporting eachother.

In there media - art show

In the local media for one of my art shows, check it out.
 Currently working on some new pieces and applying for new shows :)

https://southmississauga.snapd.com/events/view/1036242

how do you find the time...what makes you happy

Something I get asked a lot is when do you have the time to paint? From the mouth of babes "mommy paints when baby is asleep".

If I could I would paint all day. I constantly have ideas and can't wait to go home and paint. When I am out and I get inspired, so I then take photos of what inspires me and this get used as reference or inspires an idea! Some nights yes I totally pass out at 9, I'm a parent of three, I'm busy and exhausted, some nights I spend time with my partner binge watching something great on netflix. And then there are my paint nights! The hardest part of anything is getting started, you are tired you have a list of excuses of things you could do, and should do. I absolutely love my time painting and did ever since I was a shy kid with no money, that instead of canvas I would paint on my old jeans in my bedroom, or sketch of scraps of paper my dad brought home from work. I'm now 36 and after life changing events of the last few years, I am so happy to see every sunrise and sunset, I can't wait to paint anything that inspires me, that catches my breathe, or makes me pause and be mindful. When I pick up a paint brush and start to paint I get lost in colour, in light and shadow, on shilouttes, on if i captured what I wanted to. Does it feel right, what's missing, am I going to make a happy little accident along the way? Or is this piece for the scrap pile? I don't think about bills, appts, everyday stresses of life, I get so focused on what I am creating, it really is something magical that you can lose yourself in, before you know it minutes turn into hours... Do I wakeup tired after, sure, of course, sometimes, but often I wakeup happy, because I created something, something that I created with my hands. Sometimes I create something I truly love, or something that I can't wait to get back to and finish, sometimes I created a mess, something that is a stepping stone, a mistake that when I look back at has taught me a lesson and that makes me happy. And I can't wait to do it again.

What do you do that really makes you happy?

Art Show and website!! busy busy

Ok so I have been super busy, I have been painting like mad and have an art show in just over one week!! On March 30th 2017 from 6-9pm I will be at Port 1 cafe in Port Credit! My artwork is currently on display there and I will be donating 10% of proceeds to SickKids. I am really looking forward to the art show it will be a great night.

I have a new website now as well as I started a Facebook page that I post regularly to. Please check out the following sites:

a shotton.ca
www.facebook.com/AShottonArtist/

Sketch - Kubo and the two strings

Kubo and the two strings, what an amazing movie, loved it! Would love to work on a movie like this someday.