Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Von Riesen.
Hi Amanda, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
Art and life are inextricably linked; you cannot fully experience one without the lens of the other.
My art took a brilliant leap forward during a month long stay in New York while my daughter attended the New York Film Academy.
(I myself, once had an interest in acting, and was in the film “Shall We Dance”, with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez).
While in NYC, I immersed myself in the city and the art scene, painted, scouted culinary gems for dinner, and enjoyed happy hours and everything the city had to offer. I had an interview by a Bangladesh TV Station in Brooklyn, for a painting I had started and completed in New York during that time, called “Study Of The Truth” and exhibited in an art gallery in Long Island.
This whirlwind of creativity led to my representation by New York City’s Agora Gallery, in the Chelsea art district. I was proud to be a part of the “Unbound Perspectives” exhibition, in the summer of 2016.
However, my artistic vision doesn’t stop at the canvas! I’m also a songwriter and recorded an album here in Nashville. Lately, I’ve been swept up in wave of inspiration and am working on writing new songs. Many things lead that kind of inspiration, and moments I won’t forget, like shaking hands with Kris Kristofferson. I am also channeling my life story into a book.
My kids dad and I built a foundation of incredible family memories, which shaped the best moments of my life. We loved road trips, and I would gain inspiration everywhere we would drive. We took our son and daughter across the USA, including annual traditions in Chicago, Minneapolis, and the Wisconsin Dells.
I hold onto highlights, like watching my son tear it up on a dirtbike and cheering him on at the hockey rink, a sport he has played since he was barely walking (and a perfect excuse to bond over his love of Carhartt).
He also just helped me buy some running shoes on FaceTime, as he is quite the expert and collector of shoes.
My journeys have taken me across the globe with my beautiful daughter. I cherish those moments, taking the Eurostar under the English Channel between London and Paris, and for me, the canals of Brugge feel like a deep dive into another world, while the beautiful Italian seaside town of Monterosso al Mare hold a special piece of my heart. Those milestones extended, when we celebrated my daughter and son-in-law’s engagement in Mexico City, and under the fireworks on New Year’s Eve in San Miguel de Allende.
Turning a new chapter now as a new and very proud grandmother, I am experiencing God’s promise of even more blessings and joy. Seeing her face brings a new meaning and inspiration to my life.
I also try and speak with my mom every day, and I treasure the memory of taking her and my daughter to Las Vegas for some wonderful female bonding.
I’ve finished a ten-piece cubism/abstract collection that I’m eager to showcase to the world. I’m very excited about these pieces!
Presently, I am working on painting more and dreaming that I was on a beach in Mexico. Imagining some early morning drinking coffee, and enjoying a Cuban cigar. I hope to continue my inspiration and momentum, taking photographs, and sipping on a great glass of wine or bourbon at sunset.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I am trying to remain focused on expanding my live music presence, recording my next album, and completing another art collection. My long-term vision is to secure gallery representation and exhibit at Art Basel. Currently, my primary focus is refining my time management to maintain high creative output while prioritizing meaningful time with my family across the country.
Missing out on some family events is difficult.
I am unfortunately unable to attend my nieces wedding in BC Canada this summer, and that is disappointing for me.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I paint with acrylic on canvas. I have a ten-piece bright and colourful Picasso inspired collection I’ve finished! I’m very passionate about these pieces, varying from 40×30 to 24×36 inches. I call these pieces “Visual Eyes” and from start to finish was led without doubt, only direction from within. From the first dip in the paint, to the last, was life put on canvas that I can’t explain, but it just flowed. The colours were alive!
I am known for helping facilitate in bringing the historic Queen Elizabeth ll painting, back to the original home in Winnipeg Canada, where it hung for many years in the hockey arena. It was all over the national news and media, I had plenty of interviews about it in 2015.
I was fortunate enough to write a whole 11 song album during covid and then record it in Nashville, so I’m proud of that. The album was nominated for a few awards back in Canada as well!
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
I love every chance I get to wake up and experience being alive, and in Nashville, it’s wonderful and crazy! This city is full of opportunity and interesting, creative people. It is definitely inspiring, all the music, the shows and songwriting events this town has to offer.
Often it seems a little overwhelming, and then there’s the traffic, that’s the ups and downs of living in a touristy town I suppose.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://AMANDAVONRIESEN.COM
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandavonriesen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandastudioa
- Youtube: https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCLANo1LeE_99c8h9KECPaaQ
- Other: https://linktr.ee/avrart?utm_source=linktree_profile_share<sid=355fa711-fa59-417c-b39c-daa1fe885b0d
