Amanda Watt

DRAWING OF SAM II

1995

"I consider myself a ‘Fusionist’, because I merge styles that inspire me, while playing with the fusion of East and West. I combine orientalism and primitivism with western cubist principles and the expressionists’ use of colour, to create bright and vibrant figurative images." - Amanda Watt Amanda Watt was born in Northern Ireland in 1960, and graduated from the Belfast College of Art and Design in 1982. Just three years out of University, while living in London, Amanda was discovered by top film director Barry Levinson, who invited her to Malibu to paint from his beach house for six months. From this moment, her art took off, and she spent the next twenty years building a successful career in California, making her way into collections of many key LA directors, producers, galleries, and film stars. With annual solo shows in LA, San Francisco and New York, Amanda's bright, vibrant landscapes, interior scenes, and her semi-abstract figurative paintings have became a staple of Californian society. Watt's key collectors include casino mogul Steve Wynn, cultural ambassador Vanessa Branson, former president of Ireland Mary Robinson, and fashion-designer Marla Ginsburg. Her work is held in key global collections including: Allied Irish Bank, Dublin; ARCO Corporation, California, and Nagi Corporation in Tokyo. In 2006, Amanda was burnt out by the sheer volume of work expected of her by these galleries, and took a step back, exhibiting just occasionally until her return to her native Ireland in 2015. Amanda now lives and works in Dromara, Northern Ireland. Artist Statement; "I am influenced by the pattern-making of Gustav Klimt and the highly stylised figures of Tom Wesselman and Alex Katz, as well as Rainer Fetting's use of bold colour and gestural brushstrokes. Japanese woodblock prints and Gauguin's Tahitian women have also inspired me, while the bright Californian colours of David Hockney and the decisive curves of Matisse are clearly recognisable in my work. I favour acrylic paint, which allows a fast pace of work with spontaneous gestures. Transparent washes precede bold primary colours to create depth and vibrancy. Multiple motifs, all from memory or imagination, are peppered throughout my work: highly stylised furniture; a picture within a picture; a torso - fragmented parts that on their own don't necessarily make sense, carefully placed to create a balanced whole."