Submitted by North Dundas Arts Council
It’s a cold, cloudy winter day and you’ve got the blues. You’ve binged on TV, listened to talk radio, and now it’s time for a trip to the library. Imagine your surprise when you walk into the Winchester Branch and see a burst of colour and beauty of original artwork crowding the tops of those bookshelves!
Welcome to the ‘Art in the Branches’ pilot project, launched in November by SDG Library and the North Dundas Arts Council (NDAC) to showcase the bevy of talent and original art in our community. Visitors have responded with enthusiasm to works by Ron Leclair, Rose Poirier and the Dreaming Heart Art Studio, and organizers hope to see the initiative expand to other Branches in the SDG Library network.
February’s featured Artist is Amanda 2020. Known to her friends as Amanda Burger, she is no stranger to North Dundas, where she makes her home with the love of her life and an ark of beloved rescued animals on their 44-acre farm. Amanda is also the founder and president of ‘A Bunch of People’, a non-profit group that stages Arts events to help raise much needed funds for various local charitable causes.
Amanda 2020 is a self-taught Canadian Artist who works in acrylic pouring/fluid art. Her unique style is both simple and complex, featuring an impressionistic take on landscapes, seascapes and figures. And yes, there is a touch of pure magic in her creative process.
“I paint with the Universe,” she explains. “Acrylic pouring is an imprecise technique due to the fluid nature of the method. I pick the colours and the Universe does the rest!”
Pouring paint onto the canvas – Amanda seldom uses a paint brush – she shifts the canvas to spread the paint. Then, to move and etch the paint, she uses blocks of wood and sticks, and straws to blow the acrylics into unique patterns, finishing with rags delicately dragged across the surface of the canvas for effect. The finished masterpieces keep admirers fascinated for hours!
Amanda 2020’s art will be on display at the Winchester branch of the SDG Library, located at 547 St. Lawrence Street above the OPP office, through the month of February, and be available for purchase. Artists wishing to participate in ‘Art in the Branches’ should contact NDAC at [email protected]. This free service is offered to all local Artists and is curated gently, with the goal of nurturing local talent of all ages and styles of visual expression.
