Amanda Gamsby
Mentone, Alabama

Phone:   (256) 697-0742
Email:   [email protected]  
website:   www.comingupviolets.com
Bluesky:   https://bsky.app/profile/comingupviolets.bsky.social
Mastodon:   https://mstdn.party/@comingupviolets
Reddit:   https://www.reddit.com/user/ComingUpViolets/ 

Greetings From Mentone, 8x10, $27 (print)

​Amanda Grace was born in Georgia, US in 1981, and grew up mainly on Long Island, NY. She is a self-taught artist who works with pencil, color pencil, watercolor and acrylic paint, mixed media and found items. She loves to make portraits of loved ones, friends and furry friends; draw silly little cartoons; and paint things. In her free time, she loves gardening, hiking all of our beautiful local trails and dreaming of the day she’s good enough to paint everything she sees. She currently owns a small art gallery, shop and studio in Mentone, Alabama's historic Moon Lake Village, where she works on her own art, offers art classes for kids and beginners, and works with other local artists to display and sell their art and crafts.

My work is brought about by my deep, undeniable need to create something and to memorialize people, places and ultimately, myself. Primarily working with pencil, colored pencil, watercolor or acrylic paint, I focus on portraits of people we’ve lost, capturing their essence as a way to keep their memory alive. These pieces are personal—sometimes intimate reflections of grief, love, and remembrance—but they are also a way for me to connect with my community. 

Chicken Butt!, 8x10, $25

Llama DiCaprio, 9x12, $25

Trion Bulldogs, 8x10, $25

In addition to portraits, I also create paintings inspired by my memories, dreams, and the photographs I’ve taken. These pieces are mainly realistic but often have an added ethereal quality, translating fleeting moments or visions into something tangible. Using my art, I enjoy exploring subconscious realms, idealized versions of our world and the world we have lost to time. I also increasingly often aim to communicate social and political messages. I believe that art is a powerful tool for reflection, resistance, and change. Whether intentionally or unconsciously, my work often comments on the human condition, identity and loss, and the sense of wishing to live in a more beautiful, magical world.

Black Cats, 16x20, $40 (print)