Amanda Furr - Biography


Amanda Furr was born and raised in San Antonio and has deep family roots to south Texas. While coming from a long line of men and women who spent their whole lives in small towns, she has always been a big city girl. Her father, John Furr, moved to San Antonio in 1972, two years before Amanda was born, to take a job as a radio engineer. He later went on to form John Furr and Associates. In 1994 John Furr and Associates became Paradigm Associates and Amanda took the reins of the family empire as Vice President, AM & Detuning Project Management.

But it was not her father's passion for multimedia that inspired Amanda to become an artist (though it may be credited in part to the Furr creative gene); instead, her journey into the world of art began long before she was born.

It was in the 1960s, on a Sunday morning, a woman by the name of Ruth Childre was trying to find a church she wanted to visit, and on the way she became lost. She ended up at Sunset Ridge Church of Christ. While it was not the church she intended to visit, she fell in love with it nonetheless. Shortly after placing membership she began teaching one of the children's classes. It was this church that John and Paula Furr raised their daughter Amanda. As Amanda entered the children's program there at Sunset, Ruth took Amanda under her wing for the first time.

In 1994, Amanda returned to San Antonio after living in Corpus Christi where her son Benjamin was born. As a single mother and taking on her new responsibilities at Paradigm, she was faced with the challenge of what to do with her life outside of office and home. It was on her father's recommendation that she reconnected with Ruth and took an interest in art. Ruth is (and has been for many years) an accomplished artist, specializing in landscape oil paintings of the Texas countryside. She has three degrees in art, is a member of three different prestigious art societies (two in Texas and one in New York), and has work on display in over a dozen exhibits throughout Texas. Because of her skill and reputation, as well as her closeness to Amanda, Ruth was able to mentor her and help Amanda became a fine and talented artist in her own right.

Amanda has continued to paint for over a decade. She specializes in still life with an emphasis on antiques from the 1950s. In addition to her work as a painter, Amanda has also taken an interest in interior design. In 2009 and 2010 she studied in Saint Mary's University interior design program. In the last several years she has joined seven different art societies, including the River Art Group and the Coppini Academy of Fine Arts.

Graduate of St Mary's University Interior Design Program

Exhibits

Memberships

Awards

  • San Antonio Housing Authority - Recognized for redesigning existing low income housing with Saint Mary Univ. Interior Design Partnership Program. - 2/10/2010
  • Coppini Academy of Fine Arts - Included in Juried Members Exhibition - 10/1/2011
  • BorderlineA.com - Artist of the Week - 12/1/2011
  • UpstreamPeopleGallery.com - Included in 14th Annual All Media Juried Online International Art Exhibition - 1/1/2012
  • AddictionAndArt.Org - Included in AddictionAndArt.Org 2012 Juried Online National Art Exhibition - 1/1/2012
  • ArtistsWanted.org - Included in Year in Review 2012 Juried Online National Art Competition - 1/1/2012
  • HelloAustin.com - Featured Artist - 1/1/2012
  • McNay Art Museum San Antonio Texas First Museum of Modern Art - One of the winners of the 'Picture Yourself Famous' Andy Warhol Digital Photo Contest - 2/7/2012
  • RenegadeFemme.com - Included in Annual Juried Online National Women's Art Exhibition - 3/1/2012
  • Three Rivers Arts Festival - Included in 2012 Juried Visual Art Exhibition - 3/16/2012
  • San Antonio Art League Museum - Included in 82nd Juried Artist Exhibition - 4/15/2012
  • River Art Gallery - Included in 2012 River Art Group Juried Membership Competition - 10/7/2012
  • Schertz Art Council - Included in The Artz Council ArtiFice Juried Exibition "Finding Hidden Objects" - 11/4/2012