Amanda Atkins in a Canary Forest

The Drawing Room: studies in repetition

2012-02-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

I will be having a show, "The Drawing Room: studies in repetition," at Voltage Coffee & Art in Cambridge! The show will feature some new work, a lot of sketchbook work, all my ladies as prints, and another old-fashioned photobooth installation for picture taking.

Cambridge is very special to me and I feel honored to be having a show within its city limits. I lived in Cambridge all 4 years of college, and it was home to two of my favorite poets: e. e. cummings and T. S. Eliot. I still love wandering its neighborhoods. There is an old, mysterious feeling of regality that hangs in the air there. This show is, in a way, going to pay an homage to all of these things. And so I began with these two paintings:

"kept by poetry"

"kept by research"

both are acrylic on 9x12" masonite.

The opening will be Friday March 9th from 7-10 pm.

I'd also like to thank Craft Corners for featuring me in their Best of the Web series! I think a lot of you will love their site - they share a lot of DIY projects and amazing artists/makers.

I hope you all have a beautiful weekend! What are you up to?

The look on your face yanks my neck on the chain.

2012-02-08T19:53:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share this beautiful cover of Neko Case's "Star Witness," performed by Kate Macdonald and Janelle Blanchard in their school's stairwell. Neko herself posted this to her facebook page! These two girls have incredible voices and did so much justice to an incredible artist who is hard to compare with.

I hope you're all having a beautiful week! I'll be back soon with some art and news.

xo, Amanda

pine tree escape

2012-02-03T23:53:00.000-05:00

-A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway

little things

2012-02-03T01:34:00.002-05:00

The Teeny Tiny Art Show IX is finally here!

Opening tonight!

Three Graces Gallery

105 Market St.

Portsmouth, NH

5-8 PM

part of First Friday art walk.

I sadly won't be able to attend this year, but I know it's going to be lovely! If you're far away, my pieces can be purchased here. I have 6 pieces framed in black wood, as well as a new drawer in the Three Graces flat file filled with my works on paper!

xoxo, Amanda

The Readings of Audrey Hepburn

2012-02-02T01:23:00.000-05:00

(reading Vogue with supermodel Dovima, who had an appearance in Funny Face)

About a year ago, I did a post with photos of Marilyn Monroe reading. Tonight I felt compelled to do the same thing for Audrey Hepburn. Both women loved and appreciated literature in their own unique way. That's what's so wonderful about literature; that we all perceive, acknowledge, and admire it differently. Still, we all take something away from it.

I hope you all had a lovely February 1st! Spring is nearing us!

xoxo,

Amanda

things that are unsurpassable

2012-01-31T22:07:00.001-05:00

This morning, I spent a few minutes with this birch tree in the gardens before work. I could stare at a birch tree for hours - the eyes, knots, layers, and the charcoal color palette. The markings, folds, peels, and scratches - they are as unique as someone's skin.

Everyone has something they are in awe of, something that seems unexplainable in its beauty. Something that can be counted on to always restore your curiosity and wonder. Birch trees have always been that for me. It's like my brain can't figure them out, like they're a puzzle. I know that I could read about them and how they grow and why they peel, but there is something about the mystery of them and a feeling that they lead to something else that I would like to keep. For now, I'd rather just stare at them and draw their little dashes and lines and curls.

One of my students said that Russia has endless forests of birch trees. I would like to see that someday.

painted Isabella

2012-01-31T02:06:00.000-05:00

Painting ladies in the art-making space at the new Isabella Stewart Gardner wing.

weekend inspiration

2012-01-28T14:21:00.002-05:00

Weekend Inspiration:

-the blouse Dakota Fanning is wearing on the cover of Elle

-geese and cattails (real and botanical)

-Flannery O'Connor's love of peacocks
-art deco home decor

-falling back in love with old things

-neighborhoods of Boston

-math in nature

(30s vanity in the Americas Wing at the MFA)

(a bridge in Sudbury, MA)

I hope you're all having a beautiful weekend! What are you up to?

bogo sale!

2012-01-23T20:44:00.002-05:00

I realized I never shared any pictures from the Bazaar Bizarre Boston! So here's all my stuff at BBB. :)

I'm having a middle of winter sale in my shop - buy one print or paper doll, get one free! Purchase one and let me know in the message to seller which you'd like for the free second.

I'd also like to thank Annie of Vintage Diggs for doing this lovely write-up about me - thank you so much!

I hope you all have a beautiful week!

sunday afternoons

2012-01-22T19:04:00.004-05:00

I am officially prepared for Valentine's Day!

Maybe it's silly, but I love this holiday.
valentines by Rifle Paper Co., Paper Source, and Laughing Elephant.

I spent a little time in Harvard Square today, particularly in the green house..

..and Anthropologie, where I stumbled upon Julia's illustration work in "I Had a Favorite Dress." I love when I see Julia's books among all the others and get to think, "my friend made that!"

Over my past few years in the city, wandering Anthropologie (where it is rare that I can buy something) has always made me feel like Holly Golightly at Tiffany's.

"The only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that made me feel like Tiffany's, then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name!"

the first snowing

2012-01-22T00:30:00.001-05:00

I was so excited to wake up this morning - I knew I'd be waking up to snow!

Geese flying in formation.

One of my favorite old Boston churches.

This hat was a present from my dear friend Kat. Thank you, Kat!!

The pond has been frozen over for a few weeks, but I think the snow laying across it made people feel comfortable to walk on the ice.

I've never walked on the pond before. It was neat to be in a space I've only looked at from the grass or bridge.

This is a little island the swans hang out on in the spring.

View from the island.

snow pup

This is where my Nana and her friends got together in the 40s! I love walking by it.

The snow day was concluded with seeing The Artist, which I really loved.

I hope you all had a beautiful day, as well! Did anyone else have snow? What did you do?

xo, Amanda

sketchbook pages

2012-01-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

Some sketchbook pages from the last month or so, complete with paper hearts from first graders.

I hope you're all having a nice, calm week.

xo, Amanda

black and white photo of lovers #6

2012-01-18T00:57:00.000-05:00

Ray and Charles Eames.

fly the ocean in a silver plane

2012-01-13T18:55:00.001-05:00

"only to be with you"

"always about to start"

"things unkept (wall of foxes)"

"written in the stars"

Teeny Tiny Show #9 pieces for Three Graces Gallery! All are watercolor on paper and 5x7" in black frames.

Do any of you have exciting plans for the long weekend?

xo, Amanda

blue boston

2012-01-11T00:00:00.002-05:00

I took the most beautiful walk this past Saturday. I walked from my apartment to the North End and took the route of the Storrow Drive running paths. There are all these beautiful little Charles River docks that you can sit on. Everything was icy and blue.

I drew some buildings in the North End. Sketchbook update soon. I hope you're all having a lovely week!

xo, Amanda

red is the color of good luck.

2012-01-09T21:19:00.000-05:00

I made Chinese New Year dragon puppets with the kids today!

Brads connect the head to the body and the body to the tail so it can move.

Chinese New Year is January 23rd. Do any of you celebrate it?

xo, Amanda

questions and answers

2012-01-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

Photographer Julia Wright interviewed me for her blog, Ramblings of a Gallivanting Girl. You can read it here. Thank you so much, Julia!

black and white

2012-01-08T00:19:00.003-05:00

There is a painting of a nun at The Friendly Toast in Portsmouth, NH. She was probably painted around 1960, and whoever created her felt like she deserved a hot pink background. My mom, who was taught by nuns at a Catholic school, loves this painting. She loves it so much that upon first seeing it she asked Friendly Toast if she could buy it. They love the nun, too, so they said no.

I repainted her for my mom for Christmas.

I fell in love with nuns myself when I visited Spain and by chance ended up in a church where the nuns began to sing. It really was one of the most breath-taking moments of my life.

On Christmas Eve, we watched The Sound of Music, which I hadn't seen since I was little. More beautiful singing nuns.

Nuns seem to be showing up in my life a lot lately the same way that geese have. Both beautiful black and white. I'm thankful for the inspiration for new paintings.

xo, Amanda

hibernation

2012-01-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

dog family on the bureau

little fox

holiday cards over the bed.

Happy weekend, everyone!

a lamb for Coco

2012-01-03T21:22:00.001-05:00

My incredibly amazing and kind friend Kat is having a baby very soon. He is going to be named Roscoe and called Coco.

Kat is one of the most wonderful people I know. When she asked me to do a little painting for Coco's nursery, I was so excited. She wanted a little creature that could watch over the baby, so I painted a lamb as a symbol of all things gentle and kind.

Kat sent me this picture of framed Lambie hanging in the nursery. I can't wait to see the rest of the nursery and, especially, Baby Coco!!

xoxo, Amanda

monday inspiration: twinkle lights

2012-01-02T12:15:00.000-05:00

I can't stop looking at these beautiful photos from Apartment Therapy.

I am trying to plan my next post card multi-pack for the shop - I'd love suggestions for particular paintings if anyone has any!

xoxo, Amanda

happy new year! and the bluejay sweater

2012-01-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

Dear friends,

Happy New Year!!! I hope this year is wonderful for all of you.

I feel like I haven't posted in forever. I'll begin posting again with a sweater I painted while at home for the holidays.

I saw a sweater in a local shop with an enormous bluejay silk screened on it. I wanted it so bad, but it was very expensive and I couldn't justify buying it, and so I bought a cheap sweatshirt and painted a bluejay on it myself.

I hope you all had a fun and safe new year's eve. What did you do?

xo, Amanda

winter apartment

2011-12-18T22:58:00.003-05:00

The only creative thing I've had time to do lately is wrap presents, so I had as much fun with it as I could. I hope this week is good to all of you!

xoxo, Amanda

bogo in the shop!

2011-12-14T20:28:00.001-05:00

In the shop: Buy one print or paper doll, get one free!

Pay for one and tell me the second you'd like in "message to seller."

The sale will end on December 18th!!

xo, Amanda

quiet moments with geese

2011-12-12T00:50:00.000-05:00

Geese have been really prevalent in my life lately; a kind of calming presence.

These Fenway geese let me hang out with them while they stood in the water and bathed this morning.

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend.

xo, Amanda

bon anniversaire

2011-12-10T02:00:00.001-05:00

Caryn, Ellen, and Matt!

with Julia!

with Caryn, Taryn, Renee, and Keith!

FableVision had its 15th birthday celebration tonight!

Like all their parties, it was lots of fun. It ended with South Street Diner.

I hope you all had a wonderful Friday!

xo, Amanda

winter sketchbook

2011-12-08T22:13:00.000-05:00

Hi, everyone! How are you?

This week has flown by and felt crazily busy, but in a good way. I'll post pictures from the Boston Bazaar Bizarre soon. That was such an amazing day; thank you to everyone who came!

Above are some regular sketchbook pages and some drawings from the "Aphrodite and the Gods of Love" exhibit at the MFA.

I hope you're all having a beautiful week!

It's Christmas time in the city.

2011-12-04T01:48:00.002-05:00

(little double-sided ornaments)

Boston Bazaar Bizarre is today! Open from noon to 6 pm at the Cyclorama Center in the South End!

539 Tremont Street, Boston MA

official merchandise list:

-8x10" prints: $15 ea.

-mini prints: $4 ea. or 2 for $7

-tote bags: $20 ea.

-ornaments: $5 ea.

-original drawings: $20 ea.

-post card packs: $10 ea.

-single post cards: $2 ea.

I hope to see you there!

xo, Amanda

little originals

2011-12-01T13:01:00.000-05:00

These are some small 5x7 paintings I'll be selling at the Bazaar on Sunday! I'll be doing a post with all the merchandise and prices before the day of the show.

Happy Thursday!

I like the word luck.

2011-12-01T00:23:00.000-05:00

Today was my birthday, and my amazing friend Kat surprised me by creating a giveaway of my new post card pack on her blog! So if you'd like to enter, head over to Fritzi Marie!

The people I know and love and the kids I work with amaze me by turning a typical wednesday into a wonderful birthday. I feel truly blessed. Thank you so much to my family and friends! I love you all.

xoxo, Amanda

the stars and the moon post card pack

2011-11-29T22:33:00.002-05:00

"The stars and the moon" post card pack is now available here in the shop!

It comes with 6 post cards: 2 each of "the waxing and waning of you," "the benefits of shakespeare," and "remember me remarkable," each one showcasing the stars and the moon in a different way.

each post card measures 4x6" so they're perfect for framing!

I had a lot of fun doing the packaging for these and chose silver labels.

I hope you're all having a beautiful week!

Also, The Bazaar Bizarre Boston is THIS upcoming Sunday! I am so excited! These post cards will be there along with handmade ornaments, original drawings, 8x10 prints, paper dolls, mini prints, silk-screened tote bags, and the holiday post card pack! I'm so excited! I'm sharing a table with my amazing friend Valerie Arruda. We hope to see you there!

xoxo, Amanda

red, white, and teal

2011-11-28T02:21:00.000-05:00

"Beauty as Duty" exhibit

airplane lace!

Linde Family Contemporary Wing

public family tree!

children's art by the cafe

My dear friend/amazing illustrator Julia and I spent an amazing Sunday at the MFA a couple of weeks ago, and I just got around to uploading the photos. Julia is kind of like my art-soul-friend. We have oddly specific things in common; things that make her my perfect museum buddy!

We spent a full 5 hours wandering through the museum. The MFA has so much going on right now! In addition to Beauty as Duty (the whole reason we went in the first place), they have a Degas exhibit, a romantic Greek statue exhibit named Aphrodite and the Gods of Love, and, probably our favorite accidental find, the new Linde Family Contemporary Wing, which was full of amazing mid-century art.

On this particular Sunday, they also had a dance troop of girls doing century-old Greek dances in traditional costumes in one of the halls of Renaissance paintings. So beautiful!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!

xoxo, Amanda

it all began tonight.

2011-11-22T20:48:00.000-05:00

A line from West Side Story's "Tonight." You know when you hear a song that you've heard before, but suddenly a line just really strikes you as something special? That happened to me last night with this line of this song. The original drawing is available here in the shop.

I hope you're all having a lovely week! If I don't post again before Thanksgiving, have a wonderful holiday and be safe!!

Love, Amanda

36 colors

2011-11-14T21:16:00.000-05:00

Some new watercolors! I always like the little kid kind. The colors are really bright.

cinder and embers

2011-11-10T12:43:00.001-05:00

"Smoke and mirrors"

watercolor and pen on paper, 8.5x11"

available as a print here

Inspired by the billowy clouds of perfume in old french posters and warm gray paired with orange and red, and somewhat by the fact that I'm a fire sign (which is something I have conflicted feelings about as I feel I should be a water sign).

I hope you're all having a beautiful november week!

xo, Amanda

southern bells

2011-11-07T20:30:00.000-05:00

My friends David and Zean had an amazing soul food/bourbon party this weekend and we all dressed like southern bells and gentlemen.

It was really, really fun.

David's band The Doctors Fox played a little bit, too, which you can see in the videos below. They're amazing and play in Boston a lot. You should check them out!

inspiration: candy colored typewriters

2011-11-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

(above typewriters available from BMTvintage)

(above typewriters available from joevintage)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend!

xo, Amanda

autumn sketchbook

2011-11-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

some pages from my current sketchbook circa this fall.

I feel really comfortable in this sketchbook. I love when that happens. I know this sounds odd, but it's like this little friend that's always with you. Most of your are sketchbook/journal keepers, so you know what I mean. :)

xoxo, Amanda

fly the ocean in a silver plane, see the jungle when it's wet with rain

2011-11-03T11:31:00.000-05:00

Another piece from "the sea series":

"a list of understated waters"

pen, pencil, and watercolor on paper; 8.5x11"

It's available as a print here.

This little series was deeply inspired by my interest in mid-century America's fascination with faraway and exotic places and 1920-30 America's sort of art deco recreation of ancient Egypt.

Happy November!!

Love, Amanda

paper pumpkins

2011-10-31T00:00:00.001-05:00

Happy Halloween!!!

silver tinsel and pink collars

2011-10-30T14:54:00.000-05:00

The holiday post card pack is now in the shop! They'll also be available at my booth at the Boston Bazaar Bizarre on December 4th.

They come in packs of 12 and have a "Happy Holidays!" message on the back.

I hope you all had the best of Halloween weekends. What did you do? What did you dress up as?!

xo, Amanda

show closing

2011-10-29T10:52:00.001-05:00

Last night was the closing reception of the Boston Collectives show at LAP gallery, and it was so much fun. Everyone looked amazing in their costumes. There were 80 artists in the show and I believe that most of them came.

I hope you are all having a fun and safe halloween weekend!

xo, Amanda

the witching hour

2011-10-26T21:28:00.001-05:00

The "A Collection of Bostonian Collectives" show at Lincoln Arts Project having its closing reception (costume party!) this Friday from 7 to 11 pm!

This lady will be there.

xo, Amanda

apples and caramel

2011-10-24T23:02:00.000-05:00

I went apple picking with Eleanor yesterday and made apple crisp with the findings tonight!

I used this really easy recipe with some small adaptations:

Replaced lemon juice with lemon extract, replaced the 4 tbsp of sugar with 2 tbsp of apple pie spice and 2 tbsp of cinnamon sugar. Instead of baking it at 375 for a half hour, I baked it at around 250 for about 40 to 45 minutes. And served it with Ben and Jerry's Karamel Sutra ice cream. :)

all the yellow birds

2011-10-23T16:06:00.001-05:00

"truly a number of things"

acrylic on masonite, 9x12"

Available as a print here.

I started this right before Europe and finished it when I got back, and I just got around to scanning it the other day. I was enamored with saturated yellow-on-yellow color palettes this past spring.

She has a more 1960s look than my other ladies. I feel like she stepped out of a Cinderella Little Golden Book.

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!

xo, Amanda

maybe I'm meant for the sea.

2011-10-22T00:40:00.000-05:00

These ladies are from a new collection I've started, "the sea series."

Each is pencil, watercolor, and pen on paper. 5x7" each.

They're available as a set of prints in my shop! More from this series soon.

xo, Amanda

what is it about notebooks?

2011-10-20T23:17:00.000-05:00

little hand-bound sketchbooks for the little ones in my nature club. :)

And FINALLY, tomorrow morning I am off to scan and there will be actual art on here and not just photographs. Happy almost weekend, everyone!

xo, Amanda

morning routine

2011-10-18T22:59:00.001-05:00

Pictures from some early morning walks in the commons and the garden.

autumn school days

2011-10-17T21:48:00.000-05:00

I love being back in the classic schoolroom setting, in a building over 100 years old, filled with plastic animals and crayons and maps and kids. Something about it makes the seasons so apparent, so much more enjoyable. Winter in the city will be so much more bearable this year.

I hope you're all having a lovely fall!

xo, Amanda

love that dirty water

2011-10-09T19:31:00.000-05:00

I kayaked the Charles for the first time today, then visited the swans at the gardens. It was a pretty nice Sunday. I hope you all had a lovely one as well. :)

xo, Amanda

autumn equals

2011-10-08T17:40:00.000-05:00

Just some pictures from the past month.

I hope you're all enjoying the long weekend!

xo, Amanda

satin maps

2011-10-05T19:55:00.000-05:00

My roommate sent me the link to these amazing photos on retronaut, and I love them.

I hope you're all having a great week! FYI, my friend Kevin is in The Man Show at Three Graces Gallery in Portsmouth, NH, opening this Friday! Portsmouth is fantastic in autumn.

xo, Amanda

Cabinet of Curiosities

2011-10-03T20:31:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Albertus Seba's Cabinet of Natural Curiosities at the Booksmith and needed a good reason to justify buying it. So, I planned a lesson around it for my class!

I coffee stained enough paper for two sheets each,

collected some 'specimens' they could draw from,

and brought in the book for them to look at. We folded all the paper in half and after they did some illustrations, I bound their drawings into individual little books with twine.

(these bats are my favorite!!!!)

It was so much fun!

let's call a heart a heart

2011-10-02T18:38:00.000-05:00

There's a feature on me in the October issue of Abstraks, written by David D'Alessandro. Thanks so much to Abstraks and David. :)

I hope you all had a beautiful weekend! Do anything fall-ish?

xo, Amanda

No fear of wonder.

2011-10-01T00:00:00.002-05:00

"No fear of wonder."

acrylic on masonite, 9x12"

Happy October, everyone!! I like to think that October is one of the most magical months of the year.

This painting is for a Halloween show at the Lincoln Arts Project. There is something about shiny, black creatures that is so beautiful and mysterious. Black cats have always been a huge part of my family, so I took this show as a great opportunity to do a painting that pays an homage to them. There's a costume reception on Friday, October 28th. In honor of Halloween, I made her available as a print here in my etsy shop.

I hope you have a beautiful October Saturday!

xo, Amanda

lollipop, lollipop

2011-09-29T23:46:00.001-05:00

So MICE has come and gone, and it was such an amazing day! I think as an event it did a great job of learning from the year before and making everything even more awesome.

(photo by Renee)

I was happily placed between my two good friends, Valerie Arruda and Julia Denos. Julia is in the picture above, with all her amazing books (including Audrey!).

Val and I with all her glorious prints. We will be sharing a table at the Boston Bizarre Bazaar!

(photo by Renee)

(photo by Val)

Thank you so much to everyone who came!! I love the craft/art fair feeling. So autumnal for me, just like back to school. :) And congrats to all my friends on such a successful day!

xo, Amanda

the pine trees in black and white

2011-09-22T23:21:00.000-05:00

Marika Rivera, daughter of painter Diego Rivera and artist Marie Marevna. I love how beautifully old-world Italian she looked, though in actuality she was Mexican and Russian.

She's perhaps best known for her role in Fellini's Casanova.

(with her husband)

A painting by Marika's mother, seen at left holding Marika as a child.

Another fascinating branch of the Diego-Frida "family" tree of lovers and children.

mice mice mice

2011-09-21T21:48:00.000-05:00

MICE is this Saturday! I've been crazily preparing prints, post card sets, paper dolls, etc.

I'm so excited! Maybe I'll see you there. :)

MICE

University Hall, Lesley University

Porter Square

1815 Mass Ave.

Cambridge, MA

September 24th, 2011

10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

europe: yellow london

2011-09-17T23:18:00.000-05:00

phone photos from London:

How is everyone's week going? It just switched over from hot weather to cool, beautiful fall weather here.

the art of cake

2011-09-13T23:01:00.000-05:00

Everyday is a Holiday is a grassroots company created by my friend Jenny Holiday and her boyfriend Aaron. Specializing in hand-painted home decor and furnishings, they have a style all their own that I first noticed my junior year of college. Jenny's is one of the first "artist blogs" I got into and I still love her today!

Jenny and Aaron will be teaching two classes at The Creative Connection this weekend. There's still time to register for their classes.

I hope you're all having a lovely week so far! xo, Amanda

what a little moonlight can do

2011-09-12T00:00:00.001-05:00

Watercolor sketches from Dr. Sketchy's today!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! Did anyone do anything fun?

xo, Amanda

I live with a mythical creature.

2011-09-10T23:10:00.000-05:00

Unicorn.

(She belongs to my new roommate. Yay!)

xo, Amanda

autumn inspiration and reading

2011-09-09T10:31:00.000-05:00

Q's Daydream led me to these Russian Vogue photos of Ulyana Sergeenko's first line and they seriously took my breath away.

I love the clear tie to Ulyana's Western-Europe roots mixed with mid-century silhouettes.

This month, I'm reading The Most Beautiful Walk in the World by John Baxter and

A Long Long Time Ago and Essentially True by Brigid Pasulka. Both are wonderful. What are you reading right now?

xo, Amanda

new home

2011-09-07T23:03:00.000-05:00

My new neighborhood is the kingdom of gardens, lawn ornaments, twinkle lights, and porches.

Someone has an actual pumpkin patch taking up the entirety of their front yard.

Mary is everywhere.

The sky reminds me of summer evenings playing outside when I was little.

No chain link fence is left without foliage.

Sunflowers run rampant.

The houses and flowers come in a variety of colors.

This is a neighborhood I've always loved walking through. I really like being here.

What are your favorite things about your neighborhood?

it's entirely possible I'm knitting a ranch house.

2011-09-05T20:34:00.001-05:00

Shots from Central Park this past April, just before my flight to Europe. Nature in the city can be so stunning. Fall always makes me miss the woods, though. I think a trip to Walden is in order.

xo, Amanda

old haunts

2011-09-04T20:41:00.001-05:00

Tonight, Kate and I went to the Harvard Book Store, a place we went to all the time during college and have never really neglected for any long period of time. The best part is the bargain basement, where every corner is collaged with newspaper clippings, photographs, etc. I love reading what all the little phrases say.

It's a great place to spend an early September night...back to school time!!

xo, Amanda

sweetheartville: creations, music, ephemera

2011-08-28T02:45:00.003-05:00

The other day, I received a sweet comment from Sweetheartville and clicked on the user profile to see where it led me. I am so glad I clicked. The creation of a lovely lady named Holly, Sweetheartville contains art, song, and findings that take you back to mid-century country music and vintage women of every decade. She falls perfectly into that elusive artistic corner where the aesthetic appeal of the southern states meets the color and enthusiasm of Mexican folk painting.

My favorite things in her shop are the prayer candles featuring Patron Saints of the Domestic Arts, completely created by Holly. (I have a thing for fictional Patron Saints, as you've probably noticed in the past. The thing is, once someone creates them, they don't seem so fictional anymore, do they? They make you feel safe and stronger in what you do.)

above: St. Charlotte, Patron Saint of Crochet

(a hand-embroidered Wanda Jackson!)

On top of art, Holly is also part of a music project called Welcome Little Stranger. If you're a fan of the likes of the Secret Sisters, Fleet Foxes, or Jolie Holland, you'll really love WLS's music. My favorite songs are "Evil Math" and Holly's rendition of "Johnny my Jewel," a civil war song with amazing lyrics.

In addition to the lovely creations and music, you can find beautiful photos of Holly's home and read interesting posts about the history of art, music, and architecture that don't exclude the nice, small details.

Holly wrote the sweetest blog post about me today and I was only too happy to do the same!

So thank you, Holly, and I'm glad I found your blog, too!

xoxo,

Amanda
P.S. - Stay safe during Irene, everyone!

the warm-colored months

2011-08-26T16:00:00.000-05:00

Almost-autumn inspiration:

-apartment windows

-Hitchcock films

-classic literature

-shiny black

-typewriters

-species

-night

I really wish I was watching Harriet the Spy right now.

Giveaway Winner etc.

2011-08-25T20:17:00.000-05:00

I picked two winners for the giveaway; they are Ange and the lovely Ivy! Email me at amandaatkinsart@aol.com with your mailing addresses. :) Thank you so much to everyone who entered. I plan on having more giveaways this fall so keep an eye out!

In other news, I finally gave in and made a twitter. I am not sure how I feel about it yet. Nevertheless, here it is!

I hope everyone has a beautiful rest of the week, and take care during the bad weather! xo, Amanda

Europe: picnic at Versailles

2011-08-21T13:00:00.000-05:00

I never got around to doing nearly as many Europe posts as I intended! I'm going to try to do more, showing things in bits and pieces. On Nicole's last day in Paris we took the train out to Versailles, where Marie Antoinette once lived. We had a picnic in her backyard.

(photo by nicole)

It seemed we got there at the perfect time. The tours were just ending when we arrived, and only a few other people were wandering the grounds out back. I'm wishing I could be back there right now.

xo, Amanda

inspiration: rifle paper co.

2011-08-20T10:14:00.000-05:00

I truly love the work of Anna Bond, a.k.a. Rifle Paper Co. I discovered her last year when Paper Source began to carry some of her cards, and then started noticing her work everywhere. I own a few of her note sets myself now. :)

(Images from Anna's blog.)

a giveaway!

2011-08-18T21:37:00.002-05:00

I decided it's time for another giveaway! I haven't had one in so long.

The prize this time is an 8x10" print of the above painting, "Remember me remarkable."

To enter, leave a comment on this post. You can receive an additional entry by liking my facebook page, another by becoming or being a follower, and yet another entry by posting about the giveaway on your blog; let me know if you do more than one! :)

I'll pick the winner on August 25th!

xo, Amanda

the enormous room: falling back in love with a writer

2011-08-17T17:37:00.002-05:00

"By a - what do you call yourself? painter? poet? playwright? satirist? essayist? novelist?

Artist.

But not a successful artist, in the popular sense?

Don't be silly.

Yet you probably consider your art of vital consequence -

Improbably.

-To the world?

To myself....

But I dare say you don't dare say precisely why you consider your art of vital consequence-

Thanks to I dare say my art I am able to become myself.

Well well! Doesn't that sound as if people who weren't artists couldn't become themselves?

Does it?"

-e. e. cummings' introduction to his novel, The Enormous Room

---

You know how sometimes a certain writer touches you at a particular time in your life, and as the years go by you wonder if the love was somewhat superficial? If maybe it was just because you were so young, or hadn't read anything like it before, or were looking for something to separate you from everyone else.

I had started to wonder these things about my love for e. e. cummings. I didn't think about it too much. Cummings touched me very deeply my junior year of high school and I carried that with me all through college, taking long walks in the Cambridge neighborhood where he used to live. At some point, I stopped feeling so emotionally connected to his writing.

I spent all of last week at home, and came across this very old copy of The Enormous Room in my bedroom. I had finished the novel I brought home with me for the week, and so I began to read this newly-found book by my old favorite writer.

It didn't take me long at all to fall back in love with him. In his introduction, a faux-interview with himself used to address what were probably real comments from critics, he gave the above passage which really hit home with me in terms of why I create art. And in terms of who I consider to be artists. I think (and I think this is what Cummings meant, behind a word with such a strong definition) that an "artist" is anyone who is strongly passionate about something, passionate in general. Simply, a person with a large capacity to love something or anything or everything. That if "becoming yourself" is hinged on anything, it's knowing how to be open with yourself and building from there.

I felt relieved to discover that my love for Cummings was always here, lying dormant; kind of like it's a true part of myself, and not in vain. Besides, it's always sad to fall out of love with something. How nice to know that you never really did.

cattails and brush

2011-08-16T19:02:00.001-05:00

I've been taking a lot of walks through the Fenway Gardens this summer. It's acres of small plots tended to by individual gardeners. If you look in certain directions, it doesn't even feel like you are in the city.

"I never knowed magic by that name, but what does the name matter?" - The Secret Garden by Frances Hogson Burnett

p.s. I want to thank all of you for the lovely, kind, comforting comments you left on my last post about my Grampa. It meant so much to me.

xo, Amanda

So proud of you, Grampa.

2011-08-11T12:56:00.001-05:00

On August 6th, my Grampa passed away, one day short of a month after his 88th birthday.

Words can't even express how proud of him I am and always have been and how much I love and miss him.

My Grampa fought in World War II from 1941 to 1945. He received a Purple Heart for saving the life of a fellow soldier, but I know that his acts of bravery were countless. My Grampa was truly the most selfless and generous person I've known in my entire life.

Today, after his funeral, my family was honored with seeing the veteran flag service performed at his gravesite. While one soldier went off into the distance to play taps on a bugle, two others carried out the folding of the flag.

I will post more photos of my Grampa later. We got out the really beautiful old ones this week, some of which I had never seen before.

I love you forever, Grampa.

Love always, Amanda

city pigeons

2011-08-03T17:01:00.000-05:00

I think that to live in the city you have to love both people and pigeons.

I came across this very sweet pigeon at the Copley Fountain the other day. It was missing both of his feet (a lot of pigeons are missing toes and even whole feet) but was managing itself fine. I think the speckled white pigeons are so beautiful.

I love how confrontational this pigeon looks...haha.

This was my mom's favorite picture - she said they look like they're pedestrians on a cross walk.

I hope you're all enjoying August!

xo, Amanda

the final throws of summer

2011-08-01T10:51:00.000-05:00

This month, I'm going to do The August Break as a way to capture summer and keep myself posting on here, even if I don't have time to share paintings!

These are some photos I took of the John Hancock tower and Trinity Church in Copley Square the other day. I always love seeing the way Boston is reflected back in the mirrored windows of the Hancock. On this day, it was impeccably reflecting the clouds. I also love how the incredibly old buildings of Boston still hold their own against the more modern ones - the Trinity never pales in comparison to the Hancock.

xo, Amanda

of cabbages and kings

2011-07-29T22:47:00.000-05:00

Boston was cloudy and cold today. Some leaves have already started to brown and fall, and it felt like Autumn. After work, I wandered around the Copley farmer's market. All the vendors have replaced the early summer vegetables with the late summer ones, and all different kinds of sunflowers (my favorite part).

I hope you have a lovely end of July! xo, Amanda

turning a new leaf

2011-07-27T22:53:00.001-05:00

I set out to scan a newly finished painting this morning only to find that the scanner I normally use was out of order. This means that I need to find a new place to scan, or just save up for a new scanner (preferably the latter). We shall see what happens!

I might not be posting as much in the month of August as I will soon have a new job and a new apartment, both of which "begin" on September 1st. Ahhh! So until then, I'll be packing, preparing, and warding off stress. I'll post here as much as I can, hopefully with scans of recent paintings! :)

xoxo, Amanda

Betty Crocker's Outdoor Cook Book, 1959

2011-07-25T20:31:00.001-05:00

My mom and I took a trip to Oh My Gosh, a vintage store in Sterling, MA, today. I got this cook book with recipes for outdoor food-making (enlarge pictures for recipes).

On the way home, we met some Belt Cows. Cows are my second-favorite animal, after dogs, of course. :)

I hope you're enjoying the remnants of July!

xo, Amanda

summer evenings

2011-07-22T21:59:00.001-05:00

We are in the middle of a heat wave, like much of the rest of the country.

Last night, my friend Eleanor and I decided to explore the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel as encouraged by a doorman who saw us gazing through the window at the piano in the bar (Eleanor is an amazing jazz singer and musician!).

Even though it is perfectly fine to wander around the lobby, it was so incredible (and so quiet in the evening) that it felt like sneaking around somewhere we weren't supposed to be.

taxidermy in the halls!

We decided to have drinks in the bar. Eleanor's came with a giant pretzel perched on top, as though it were an olive on a toothpick or a slice of lime.

The whole place is just so old and it's like the history is embedded in its walls. You can practically feel the generations past when you're there, see the dresses and the lipstick and the suits.

Yay spontaneous summer nights in the city!

I hope you're all doing well with the heat. What have you been up to?

PS - Writing about the old feeling of the Fairmont brings this commercial to mind. I think it is still one of my favorite commercials ever!

cygnet update

2011-07-16T18:27:00.000-05:00

Swan shell from H&M, vintage necklace from americathebeautiful on etsy.

I love this swan blouse I stumbled upon in H&M! I can't wait to wear it.

I'm getting so excited for the fall. In my head, I've always been on a "school year calendar," so September always feels like the start of a new year to me.

Lately, the morning air and evening air has just been feeling like back to school time. It's a little premature, maybe just wishful thinking. I love the air in autumn.

I FINALLY updated my portfolio, splitting my paintings into their official series and expanding the sketchbook and paper doll sections. Oh, and getting product ready for MICE! Something else very autumn to me: selling my stuff in a craft-fair style setting. We always helped my mom with her craft fairs every autumn and winter. It makes me so happy!

I hope you're all enjoying July!

xoxo, Amanda

anatomical hearts are a tie to my past.

2011-07-12T11:26:00.001-05:00

One of my high school classmates contacted me a few months ago to commission a piece for her boyfriend, also an artist, who has a penchant for all things Mexican folk art related. She wanted a portrait of herself done in this style to give him for their anniversary.

Frida Kahlo was one of my first favorite artists, and in college I adored putting anatomical hearts in almost everything I did. The heavy symbolism used in Mexican folk art is one of my biggest influences and still carries over into my current work. Needless to say, I really loved working on this piece!

I hope you all have a beautiful Tuesday and something summer-y planned.

xo, Amanda

two little ladies

2011-07-11T13:05:00.001-05:00

Two new original paintings measuring 4.25 x 5.5" in the shop! I had fun painting them. :) Can you tell I'm already looking forward to wearing fall clothes?

"Only green dresses" available here.

"Made for Autumn dressing" available here.

I hope you're all having a beautiful day!

xoxo, Amanda

Grey is safe. I like the black ones.

2011-07-09T19:44:00.002-05:00

My lovely friend Kat just sent me the most beautiful elbow-length black gloves, found during one of her treasure-hunting adventures. They are an important symbol in my favorite movie, Shopgirl, and so they make me very happy. Also, elbow-length gloves are one of those things I've always wanted to own.

I hope you're all having a beautiful week!

xo, Amanda

(june july) sketchbook

2011-07-07T10:20:00.000-05:00

xo, Amanda

sparklers and fireworks

2011-07-03T20:33:00.000-05:00

"rarities unleashed"

acrylic on masonite, 9x12"

available as a print here.

Happy 4th of July! What are your plans for the big day?

xoxo, Amanda

tennessee williams

2011-06-26T18:36:00.002-05:00

listening to:

Tags: The New Pornographers, Challengers, Music Videos

reading:

I read a long time ago that summer is the time to be 13 again and have never forgotten it. I read less serious books and feel brave enough to do things I wouldn't normally do.

Isn't it funny how one line can really change the way you think about something for the rest of your life?

Hector is a good book to be reading right now, as I deeply attach my reading material to the space of time in which I read it. I write in the margins and date the pages. I know that when I pick Hector up years from now, it's going to fit perfectly with this summer.

Wuthering Heights was one of my Nana's favorite books and I've been meaning to read it for ages.

xo, Amanda

Be generous, be delicate, and always pursue the prize.

2011-06-24T01:28:00.000-05:00

-Henry James

Photos from Boston exploration. Transitioning back to Boston from Europe was easier than I thought it would be. I love it just as much as I did before I set off to see other pieces of the world. I think it's my soul mate city; how lucky I am to live in it.

More art soon, I promise! And exciting things for the shop!

xo, Amanda

all in green went my love riding

2011-06-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

In order to get to Europe, I first had to take a train from Boston to New York City. I took these pictures from the train window.

regards to spain (& buy one get one sale)

2011-06-14T17:01:00.003-05:00

"Regards to Spain"

acrylic on masonite, 9x12"

available as a print here.

This painting is very special to me. It's the first painting I've completed since my return from Europe. It was inspired by the film I mentioned in the sketchbook post below: "Canciones para Despues de una Guerra (songs for after a war)" by Bastilio Martin Patino, which I saw at the Reina Sofia in Madrid.

While watching the film, I was particularly struck by an image of a couple dancing, the woman wearing a party hat. While I've seen adults wear party hats dozens of times in many places, it was this woman, in her vintage dress (at the time not vintage at all) with the traditional cone-shaped symbol of festivity placed on top of her perfectly styled hair, who made it seem so fun and child-like and charming. It just seemed so Spain. Even though all the clips were black and white, it was such a colorful image and I knew immediately that I had to paint a girl in a party hat.

Also special because it's the first painting I did using some of the acrylic Vert de Nice paint I bought in Paris at a lovely art supply store in Saint Germain des Pres. It's the prettiest shade of mint I've ever found in paint form!

I figured what with all the new prints in the shop, I should have a buy one get one sale. So you know the drill, buy one print or paper doll and tell me in a convo or the message to seller box which one you'd like free! :)

xoxo, Amanda

europe sketchbook

2011-06-13T14:34:00.001-05:00

corner of rue de l'epron and rue saint-andre des arts

Feeling inspired by "Canciones para Despues de una Guerra (songs for after a war)," a film by Basilio Martin Patino (a beautiful compilation of footage from 1940s Spain). More came from this which I'll share tomorrow. :)

The view out my bedroom window in Paris (unfinished)

on rue de seine, the street of my hotel

view from bedroom window, looking left

So here are some of my sketchbook pages from Europe!

Most of my drawing was done in Paris since that was my first real alone time. I actually ended up writing much, much more than drawing. I'm happy about that, though I wish I had found more time to draw the Paris rooftops. So beautiful..

xoxo, Amanda

clever girl.

2011-06-13T01:37:00.000-05:00

My talented and funny friend Marco Jiminez created this Velociraptor (ala Jurassic Park) in the style of my ladies. I love it. Thanks, Marco! :)

songs of summer

2011-06-09T01:10:00.000-05:00

Do you have an album you only listen to at a certain time of year? For me, it's the soundtrack to My Best Friend's Wedding. It's the first CD I ever bought. It was August and I was 11. Ever since then, it's been my late summer CD, and I avoid listening to the songs as much as possible in fall, winter, and spring. It seems silly to have rules like that for myself, but it makes the songs feel so much more special for some reason.

It has all these great 60s love songs on it, and this is one of them. The video is fun!

xo, Amanda

on beekeeping

2011-06-07T21:47:00.000-05:00

I am currently reading "Plan Bee" by Susan Brackney. A few summers ago, I developed a deep fascination with bees. This summer, I decided it was time to learn more about them.

Susan Brackney, a beekeeper, wrote this great book that combines the science/nature of bees and the history of beekeeping with her own personal experience.

I find bees to be one of the most amazing species on the planet. Their ability to plan ahead and communicate with each other is incredible. They are born to fill a certain role (worker bee, nurse bee, queen, or drone) and know exactly what to do from the get-go. I love eating honey because it's almost touching to know that a little insect put so much work into something we can eat; it becomes an honor of sorts.

Here are some of the things that have amazed me the most:

1) When a hive decides to split in half, the bees will collectively plan a "swarm." This process is incredible. In preparation for a colony split, they will create a new queen who will stay behind and produce offspring for the soon-to-be smaller colony, who will remain in the old hive (the original queen will leave with the swarm).

Bee larvae is incubated in a small honeycomb cell, which a nurse bee seals off with wax in order for the baby bee to grow. To produce a queen, these cells are made larger and sealed off differently. Several queens are bred and whichever one emerges first will kill off the other potential queens. If two hatch at the same time, they fight till the death. So in preparation for a swarm, nurse bees will begin incubating new queens weeks in advance. Beekeepers look for this as a sign that their hive is planning a swarm.

(The very fact that a hive of thousands of bees can, together, plan a leave of the hive just blows my mind. But it gets better!)

Worker bees do their part by venturing out into the world to find a new home for the swarming bees. They return and communicate the distance and type of location to each other with dances. The most enthusiastic dance usually garners the most attention, and the movements of the dance provide directions on how to get to this new location to all the other worker bees, who will then go out and see it for themselves.

(How amazing is that?!)

Once everything is ready, the bees will swarm off. On their journey, they'll sometimes hang out in strange places (mailboxes, street poles). I would very much like to see a mass of 30,000 bees hanging out on my mailbox.

2) This is my favorite thing I've read so far about bees, because it showcases their gentility and instinct to nurture. This is how I always pictured bees, though this book has showed me how cut-throat they can be. This little piece of information re-confirmed everything I love about bees:

There are pests that can invade a hive and reek a lot of havoc in it. This, of course, is bad, but I can't help but love what I learned in the mite/pest chapter. Nurse bees are so inclined to give care that all a mite has to do for food is touch the nurse bees "feeding part" (her mouth) and the nurse, following her natural instinct to nurture, feeds the mite as though it were a bee larvae.

Maybe that's weird, but I just love that.

3) If I ever do keep bees, I will get golden Italian bees, the most gentle and docile of the bee world.

---

I hope you all enjoyed my bee rant! I just find them so amazing that I had to share. Do any of you know a beekeeper or keep bees yourself?

xoxo, Amanda

New Prints in the shop!!

2011-06-06T14:44:00.000-05:00

All my pieces from "Depending Upon the Nature of the Beast" are now available as prints in my etsy shop!

Don't forget to use your blog follower coupon code. :)

xo, Amanda

Madrid, day one

2011-06-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

Spain has a special place in my heart now that I have been there. Out of the three countries we went to, it's the only one I took on with no expectations. There were no landmarks I felt obligated to see. I went into it openly without any pressure to do or see anything specific, and that freedom made room for the most beautiful discoveries.

On our first night, the batteries in my camera died and I had to rely on my phone camera. I kind of liked the limitation - it changed the way I took pictures. So here are some of the images from our first day and night in Madrid!

Our time in Madrid consisted of a lot of walking (it's the best walking city, much like Boston) and a lot of eating (we'd pretty much stop once every couple of hours and eat/drink somewhere..the food in Spain is cheap and SO good), a few museums, a botanical garden, a hostel, an apartment, a few insanely beautiful churches, one rainy afternoon, a soccer tournament, lots of colors, and just perfect, small moments.

I hope you're all having a lovely weekend!

xo, Amanda

a fine frenzy

2011-05-31T00:00:00.000-05:00

How did I not know about this tumblr sooner!? Aptly named "vintage gal," it is just as it sounds: hundreds of beautiful photos of ladies from the past; a perfect mixture of photos and art, celebrities and no-names, weird and not-so-weird.

Have fun looking!

xo, Amanda

something about nuns

2011-05-29T22:17:00.002-05:00

This is my favorite moment from my whole trip. I was so lucky to be able to capture part of it on film. Adam and I wandered into an incredibly beautiful church in Madrid and found a room where some nuns were praying. There were only a few other people sitting in the room. We sat down for a few minutes, and were about to leave when, all of a sudden, the nuns stood up and began to sing.

They had some of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard.

xoxo

Amanda

midnight in paris

2011-05-27T22:56:00.000-05:00

Tonight I saw Midnight in Paris, Woody Allen's new film, at the Coolidge Corner Theater.

The Coolidge is an amazing theater that's been open since 1933. Midnight was played in the "movie house," which is the largest screening room in the building with beautiful art deco features.

It seemed like the perfect place to see this movie.

I actually didn't know much about the movie before seeing it. While in Paris, I saw an American movie with French subtitles and one of the previews was for this film. I just remember seeing Marion Cotillard in a room of taxidermy animals and falling in love immediately, naturally. Paris also had posters for this movie absolutely everywhere; they were rightfully proud!

I won't say much about the movie, except that it was everything that I, personally, could ever dream a movie to be, and that you should see it. :)

I've been SO busy lately, but I promise that so many more Europe photos are coming, plus drawings, plus new paintings!!

xoxo

Amanda