My Best Friend Pet Portraits
Custom Paintings by Tami Amos
ABOUT
FUN FACTS
My most favored piece was a pencil sketch I drew of a rag doll sitting in an oversized rocker.
My most featured piece was a mixed media of soft pastel and charcoal depicting the devastation of war and famine in a third world country. I drew an old woman draped with a head covering and in the reflection of her eyes could be viewed the starving, potbellied, children crying. The background included flames of fire and an old decrepit tree. The piece was exhibited at a museum,in Washington for a time, thereafter I honestly don't know what became of it.
My least favorite piece, believe it or not, was my first sold piece. It was an early attempt at clay modeling and being rather over confident, I attempted a bust of a china doll head. It quickly morphed into a wide flat face with an elongated head, bulging eyes and over-sized nostrils. I was so distraught I put a pair of horns on it and glazed it in some sort of pea soup colored green glaze. Yep, it was the first piece I ever sold. Go figure.
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Another fun fact, or not so fun fact actually. Did you know that Van Gogh was not a renowned artist during his lifetime? In fact, he only sold one painting. It is for this reason that I with full gratitude wish to acknowledge that I willingly accept Patron of the Arts gifts. If you would like to take part in this artist's journey, please purchase a painting or feel free to make a donation. Thank you.
You’ve probably heard the tune ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’; well that’s where I’m at with my art right now. I just want to create pieces that invoke those carefree fun feelings we cherish.
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Born and raised in Omaha, NE, and now living and creating in Phoenix, AZ, USA. I have no formal art instruction or training with the exception of the art classes provided during my primary and high school years, though the good Lord has blessed me with a good eye and an ability on occasion to be creative.
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I was most influenced not by the major league names we revere today such as Van Gogh, Dali, or Munch. Okay, well maybe Da Vinci, I like that he focused on people. Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate their works but I was rather influenced by the simplistic illustrative works I glanced upon daily in my youth such as illustrations by artists Eleanor Campbell and Richard Wiley who were illustrators of the Dick and Jane early reading education books as well as Norman Rockwell's, The Saturday Evening Post series. I also loved watching Bob Ross create landscapes on television.
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Still favoring illustrative works, recently I have become fascinated with more caricature, folk style art and this amazing mixed media journal style of art I see. My God given talents however are weighted in impressionistic realism or what I call story book realism. My earlier works were a hodgepodge of fine art graphite sketches in a developing hyper realism though I've worked with a variety of mediums.
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During my youth I was blessed with a gift of artistic ease; however I was uneducated in the career possibilities with illustration and didn't think my style suited advertising. Believing the old adage of "starving artist", as many of us do, I allowed life to move forward without pursuing my artistic ambitions. Soon there was marriage, children, etc... Life was great but art became that thing that I was once good at. That is until somewhat recently.
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With the last of my children grown and having left home, I must have been suffering with the empty nest syndrome and driving my husband bat crazy nuts as he kept insisting I needed a hobby. So a few years ago, as my husband and I were walking through a store he asked what I wanted for Christmas and having a need for absolutely nothing, I glanced over and saw some painting kits, so I responded “How about a paint set.” And here I am. I have a hobby.
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Having a passion to serve the Lord and loving animals, I decided to start out using my artistic abilities if possible to help our faithful friends and brothers and sisters in need. I created My Best Friend Pet Portraits as a way to fulfill my time, bless someone with a treasured remembrance of their loved one and help others. More recently, I have made the decision to leave the corporate world and pursue what I pray does not become another “starving artist” statistic but a lovely journey of creating fun, positive emotionally invoking memories through art.