Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Fine.
Amanda, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I’ve always been intrigued by art from day one, but always assumed that making a living as an ‘artist’ wasn’t very rational or likely. So, with that in mind, I just brushed the idea to the side and pursued other endeavors, keeping my art as an occasional hobby. I dabbled in many different styles and genres of art throughout my life, even going so far as to try my hand at graphic design my first semester at UNT. I went with what felt familiar and safe, because like most recent high school graduates – I had no idea what I actually wanted to pursue and was unaware of just how many possibilities the world actually had to offer me as a career path.
Although I enjoyed the experience and newfound skills, it only took one semester for me to realize that graphic design via sitting in front of a computer screen for hours on end, definitely wasn’t the path for me. So, I finished out my four incredible years at UNT as a Recreation and Leisure Studies Major, where I could immerse myself in my other area of passion – people, sports, fitness and all things health and wellness! Now fast forward a couple years and I have the opportunity to start a personal training studio with a good friend of mine, so I move in with my parents to put away some money for the startup. After a couple months passed, the studio dream fell through but little did I know, this was a blessing in disguise! While back home at my parent’s house, I got to start creating art again, using my old cans of spray paint and canvases, along with other art supplies that my wonderful parents never threw away. During that time spent, painting outdoors in the beautiful Texas sunshine, letting my creativity run wild and energized internally by the ebbs and flows of good tunes, there it happened – I fell in love with my next genre of art – abstract.
With all the colors, my heart desired and none of the restrictions those other genres required, abstract paintings re-ignited the spark that fueled my soul’s creativity. Now I had some unique pieces, but spray paint on canvas to me still felt incomplete, so I researched for some form of resin to put that nice ‘finishing touch’ on each piece. “NOW, these are worthy of purchase,” I thought to myself. But then, just as quickly as I fell back in love with art again, I got word that I was awarded an exciting position at one of the world’s top performance training companies, EXOS, and just like that, I packed up and moved out to Frisco, Texas to begin this next chapter of my life.
Now, at my new apartment, with my new career in full swing, I was still determined to keep my creative side alive, but I couldn’t spray paint indoors and I had all this resin left over with nothing to use it on. So, of course, I head on over to Instagram and YouTube to see what sort of projects others were using resin for and down the rabbit hole I went! I tried several methods of abstract acrylic paint pouring I found online, but it didn’t feel like mine quite yet, so I started just experimenting on my own. Through many pricey trial and errors, I started to figure out what I liked and didn’t like, what patterns and effects various mediums created when mixed with resin or layered and poured in different ways. I had made some pretty neat, small pieces at this point, but was still doing this as a hobby; I had no idea people would soon be paying me for these!
Some time had passed and I shared my journey on social media as most twenty-somethings do these days, and sure enough, I started to get occasional inquiries. Those first sales help to build my confidence and made me believe that I could, in fact, sell some of these pieces and who wouldn’t love to get paid a little on the side for doing what they love? My first ‘big break’ you could say was having the opportunity to showcase several pieces for the grand opening of Zoya Salon in Addison. I created a variety of pieces but the showstopper was a custom 4ft x 4ft turquoise and silver paint which is still on display at the salon today, along with a few other of my first pieces. I’m thankful to Zoya for allowing me to be part of her salon and proud to still have my artwork on her walls.
Thanks to that event, I was offered a spot at a social networking charity event in Dallas, called the Social Experivent, which helped to further my networking in the Dallas area and build my confidence. From that event on, my pieces have really evolved stylistically and I’ve had some truly phenomenal opportunities to create gorgeous one-of-a-kind pieces for multiple local Dallas area businesses. One of my favorites by far was commissioned by Shawna and Alan Mohler of Mohler Mixed Martial Arts & Recovery in Deep Ellum for my art to be done on an entire door inside their beautiful recovery facility and gym. I also have three 4ft x 4ft pieces inside of Tangerine Salon at The Star in Frisco, numerous pieces in other locations like the Testosterone Centers of Texas in Prosper, HydroPros in Austin, Aguilera Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and my largest piece to date – a 7ft long piece at Pete’s Burgers, Wings, and Drinks in Rowlett at Firewheel Mall. I’m so very thankful for all of these business and their owners for trusting me to create unique artwork for their clientele to enjoy on a daily basis!
Along the journey, I’ve been blessed to create pieces for several other businesses, numerous friends and family members, and even people in other parts of the Nation. I do most of my smaller pieces here at my apartment, and for the giant ones – I have to give a huge shoutout to my parents and two younger sisters for not only lending me space at the house and being top-notch assistants when the project calls for it, but for their unending and unwavering support of my art throughout my life journey. It’s because of them, I know I will be successful.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My struggles were, and still are, only challenges to overcome. Challenges are just opportunities to learn, grow, and evolve, and this holds true in all aspects of life. It’s all about perspective and how you approach and react to challenges mentally – you gotta stay positive! I can attribute that mentality to my martial arts background, starting in Tae Kwon Do at age 4, and training the last few years, and still now, in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Mixed Martial Arts in general.
For the most part, the challenges with my art were predominately minor, things like learning how to keep my canvas flat and not dip in the middle where the resin will pool, making sure I can create a nice, smooth, waterfall type edge on each painting, and others like how long do I have to work with the resin before it gets too sticky, and how much of each medium do I need to use to get the right density of each color.
I’ve also learned that people will only value my art as much as I do, and I shouldn’t let other people influence what each piece is worth to me, because truly, each painting is a little piece of myself and I put careful time and love into each one, so that they might also bring that same love and joy into their lives as well.
Finally – the biggest challenge has been transporting those giant pieces all over Dallas! My parents have really helped me in that area – rigging up my truck for each one accordingly, sometimes taking an hour just to get it loaded safely and carefully.
Please tell us about GLAZED Art by Amanda Fine – what should we know?
I call my genre of art, ‘abstract resin paintings’ and popular opinion is that it resembles marble or granite. What sets me apart from most other artists who do similar style paintings, would be my signature drips down the sides of each piece, which is what inspired the name, ‘Glazed.’ Also, every painting is truly unique and one-of-a-kind – never duplicated.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I feel that so long as I am genuine in my motives, thoughts, intentions, and in my interaction with clients, then I will be successful. I cannot worry about what others will think about my work because inevitably, every piece of artwork is viewed differently by each individual who sees it. Some will always love it, and some will not. Some will only see it, but some will feel it. But regardless of which reaction they may have, I want to make sure that their experience when interacting with me, will always be a positive one.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 214-908-1364
- Email: afineucdenton@live.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/amandafine_art
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