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My name is Amber. I'm a third-generation artist and painter living in Lancaster, PA. I love working with all mediums but putting brush to canvas feels most like home. When I find inspiration for a new piece of art, I simply can't not create. Sometimes I paint or create because I think something is beautiful or because I feel the need to tell a story. Sometimes I create because my heart is overwhelmed with emotion, and I need to let the paint take me where words cannot reach.
Painting has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. The love of art runs deep through my family line, and I grew up watching my mother paint and hearing stories about my grandmother's work. I remember a defining moment as a child when my mom trusted me enough to put a few strokes of paint on one of her paintings. There was such joy in walking by that painting and knowing that I had helped to complete it. I was joining the line of painters in my family, I suppose.
As a child, I was always creative and dabbled in anything artistic. The medium didn't matter to me. I just wanted to create. Ironically, I never thought I would be an artist. I attended Millersville University, where I majored in art education with plans to teach, but I soon changed course and pursued a career in kitchen and bath design. While I enjoyed the interior design industry, I never stopped painting. With all the life changes that came my way in those years, the one thing that never changed was the familiar smell and feel of paint and my need to create.
I started painting more regularly during those years and worked on a lot of commission pieces of family and house portraits in watercolor. It was also a season of exploration and experimentation in my work in both medium and subject. During this time, I saw something distinctly different in my work. I remember being surprised by how easily I could "see". My college drawing professor used to say that anyone can learn how to draw, but an artist learns to see. I was amazed at how clearly and naturally I was beginning to see and express that in my work as I gave myself to it more fully.
Like many artists, my painting style is always evolving. I love to challenge the status quo with two questions: "Why? And How?" These two powerful and curious questions drive and inspire much of what I do in art and life. Sometimes to paint the lines, you must look outside them first, and that is exactly where the "why" and "how" come together. I find most inspiration in nature and people - by their stories, who, how and why they are. How they became to be who they are today. I've invested my life in honoring God with my gifts. My hope is that my art connects with you, moves you, and inspires you to see just a little more beauty in every day, because it's there - all around you!
When I'm not creating, you'll likely find me at my home in beautiful Lancaster County, where I live with my husband and our cat. Family are my favorite people, and home is my favorite place. I enjoy puttering around the house - always changing, updating, and improving my spaces. I also enjoy riding motorcycle with my husband and the many four-wheeler rides around home and at the mountains in northern PA. If I'm not rearranging and redecorating my home, you'll find me outside gardening and watching my plants grow.
I love early morning coffee sipping and starting the day when it's still quiet. I don't sit well or sit long and love to be doing projects. I have piles of ideas and piles of projects. Thankfully, as Maya Angelou says, "You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have." So, here's to creativity and having as many piles of ideas and projects as possible!
Love,
Amber
