AMANDA JONES
INTRODUCING AMANDA JONES — artist, poet and film-maker based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney Australia. In 2021 AMANDA published a book called 'Diary of a Freelancer' (handwritten scribbles all taken from HER actual real life diary as a freelance film-maker) AND WITH THIS SHE exhibited 18 large paintings with HER favourite pieces from the book in rainbow colour, AND almost all of them sold within 24 hrs - So WITH THIS HER art practice began. I AM CONSTANTLY MOVED BY EACH PIECE SHE CREATES AND AM COUNTING THE DAYS TILL I CAN COMMISSION A PIECE. WE ARE SO THRILLED TO FEATURE HER ON POMONA, CONTINUE READING BELOW…
LET’S KICK OFF WITH GETTING TO KNOW YOU A LITTLE BETTER, HOW WOULD you describe yourself?
I’m going to borrow the words of one of my best friends and fellow poet artist, who knows me better than I know myself, “flip it upside down, turn it around, insert a disco ball and then use the space bar key to shift every single thought left of centre—then you’d have the recipe to Amanda”
Did you know early on you wanted to create art or was this something that developed over the years?
I’ve always had art. I trained as a dancer for most of my life and wanted to be a choreographer (I still do secretly). After a brief stint at fashion school, I found myself working freelance as as a set designer and stylist, then for a long time as a film maker. All this gathered creative experience arrived in the form of a book, ’Diary of a Freelancer’. Yes, I published the pages of my real diary in my real handwriting. The book is actually how I made my way to art, I began painting the aphorisms from it’s pages and to my surprise, people bought them.
How HAS THE journey of an artist been?
It’s been a beautiful plot twist of my life. A pandora’s box, but of play and delight. I am spoilt for it. It took over my life about a year ago and has been full time (and then some) ever since. I’m in awe at how well it suits my sensibilities. That left-of-centre brain suddenly works in my favour. I still see myself as learning, but I hope that I always am. There is so much to learn.
Are there any aspects of running your own business that you find challenging? And if so how do you combat them?
Combat is an appropriate word, it does feel like a battle sometimes. For me, the battle is mostly with my own motivation flow. That’s probably where most of my writings come from as well, tricking myself into getting things done. Or at the very least, not quitting. Aphorisms like “it’s not a to-do list, it’s a poem” or “everything you do, do it with soul” are repeat reminders to my own internal dialogue. The temptation to rush things is my constant trap. Slowing down brings all kinds of healing and balance to my work and life.
Your recent exhibition ‘Time Is My Friend’ at The Calmm looked incredible - I’m very sad I missed it!! How was opening night?
You were definitely missed! The whole thing has been cosmic. It’s been the perfect space to hold this collection. The Calmm has a presence that will give you a deep exhale the moment you walk through the door. The ethos aligns so well with my journey in creating this collection. It’s been really cool seeing this collection on the warm wooden walls down the 9 metre long hallway, it’s a different experience to the all white of my studio. And opening night was so fun, I was blissed out on all the love people brought.
Tell us a bit about this collection and what was the inspiration behind each piece.
It’s an invitation to view time as circular rather than linear. We can see that all things come around again, all patterns repeating. As we feel the stretch between our dreams and our current position, who we are and who we are becoming, viewing time as circular looks kindly on our notions of failure and missing out. Loss is lessened. Time falls in our favour, and the need for rush dissolves as we find rhythm. We have no trouble viewing seasons in this way. As autumn brings a crisp wind, we don’t wonder if summer will ever return.
I absolutely love the colours you used - was there any reason for choosing these specific tones?
The magenta was the first colour that called to me, I couldn’t ignore it. And the ripe orange followed her. From there I leant into the rich, warm and romantic, floral tones and it all unfolded. For the hero pieces I wanted something luminous, that felt like a lit candle. I was surprised when the citrus hues arrived, not what you would usually associate with candles. But these pieces do seem very much alight to me.
What is YOUR process when creating each piece?
I painted this collection entirely with my hands, only using brushes for the poetry. The series within the collection were painted as one long canvas and separated into individual pieces. I wanted to capture different parts of the cyclical shapes, as we separate our lives into different seasons…beginning, repeating, ending. I would move the paint across the raw canvas starting from the centre moving in circles, it felt more similar to dying the fabric than traditional painting. Then I layered with the circular lines of oil stick and finally the poetry.
How do you find daily inspiration and balance?
Not every day holds inspiration that’s for sure. When I feel particularly blank, it usually means I’m depleted. Which isn’t bad, in fact it’s good. It means I’ve given deeply from my creative well and I need to regenerate. It’s all the basics, eat well, sleep, be in nature, breathe deeply, move your body. Your imagination returns. Even if it takes longer than I would like sometimes.
What would your advice be to other artists wanting to fully dive into a career in creating?
I have found deep rewards in sharing my process through my digital scrapbook. It’s allowed me to connect very directly with people who love my art and build a community around my work. Also I can receive immediate feedback as I create. It takes away some of the work of trying to guess what things will capture people’s hearts. And I am often surprised by things I think are just scraps of play that evolve into real work because of how they spark magic in people’s reactions. So, my advice is to share your process.
IF YOU’D LIKE TO PURCHASE AN ARTWORK OR PRINT BY AMANDA, YOU CAN DO SO VIA HER WEBSITE: amandajones.art
pHOTOGRAPHY BY SAGE HAMMOND