I have known Amanda for a while, in fact I met up with her before Covid stopped my trips to interview artists for Painter Magazine. Her work is dynamic, in as much as it always moves in direction of expressive beauty. Her reflections of the landscape are always personal and yet have a universal appeal. The methodology of using acrylics then cold wax and oil on canvas/board are not an uncommon choice of mediums with painters, but Amanda uses the full advantages of the texture and mark making system presented to a creative. Despite the obvious advantages of using wax and oil together, with the quick drying facility of acrylic that does not guarantee quality of art, nor any of the visual tricks that may disguise a less talented painter. However, Amanda is exceptionally talented and completely committed to her art. Words are frequently inadequate to describe art, that fact is acknowledged by most artists, however that is no reason to avoid using words to amplify what lies behind her art.

Amanda embraces cold wax medium mixed with pigments. This is not only to provide body to her paintings, but to enable her to ‘sculpt’ into the surface with expression. In her workshops she demonstrates this mythology and interesting technique to create images with texture. Amanda is a very serious artist. She has a delicate, sensitive and a very charming manor about her. Amanda’s colour sense reflects an inner strength, yet subtle approach. The work also is strong in content within nature and the unifying subject matter. The environment means something more than attractive landscape to base her imagery on. For Amanda the ‘place’ holds something else. Is it perhaps a personal secret? Or maybe a deep seated memory? Whichever it is, her paintings do not push their absolute will into the viewer. The peaceful tonal values allow creative types, those that are inclined to enjoy lingering in front of works of art, to gain satisfying pleasure. From a purely stylistic view point, there is something ‘Turneresque” about her work, not only the colour palette, but also the way the swirling mist and instinct senses seem so close, yet so far away.

IB18 an exhibition exclusively on painting became the focus of our discussion. Inviting Amanda to participate provided a snapshot of current painting practice in Liverpool. For Amanda, it is all about forming a visual vocabulary that reveals and renews our kinship with the natural world. This is at core of Amanda’s art practice and can be seen through her processes of making and sharing art. For her the landscape is not clearly seen or understood until it has been explored through layers of research and experience, hoping to give nature a true value.