Featured Artists
Art on the Border 2023

2023 Featured Artist AMY EICHLER

"Painting, much like dancing, is a physical self-expression to capture the mood, emotion, or personality of the setting or model. Both disciplines focus on texture in movement, allowing bold and graceful gestures to work together to create visually pleasing pictures. It's my love of training in dance that has influenced my painting to emphasize expressive color, rhythm, technique, character and the living form. I approach my paintings like a dance routine, performing my art from start to finish with one burst of energy. While I'll always revisit the piece to make adjustments, it is that first explosion of enthusiasm that sets the tone for the painting. Though my paintings may not include imagery of dancers, it is my process of painting that is my dance.

Over time, my art has grown to be more about the subject and less about the setting, abandoning much of the background to make room for more contrast and negative space. This transition has narrowed my focus on the portrait. These portraits develop their own happy characters and unique names as they emerge from the canvas. I use color layering from a limited palette to push the neutrals into more vibrant hues, the ones we all see in nature but can't always remember. The backgrounds remain flat, using ears, horns, and excess fur to

expand off the edges of the canvas to create a high-contrast, close-up view of the personalities of these creatures. Ultimately, I love anything with eyes and a personality."