Want to meet the artist? Join her and other local talent this coming Saturday, August 25th, at BorderLinea's Art and Music Showcase at The Mix starting at 9 p.m. Pop in to the monthly meet-up of creative minds for cheap drinks, free live music and amazing talent from five different artists.
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Blanco County News - Wednesday May 23, 2012
 
On Saturday, May 19, Rain Bird Gallery hosted artist Amanda Furr, whose oil paintings are inspired by the chrome and curves of classic cars. She has expanded into painting other objects from the 1950s, including old radios, antique telephones, broadcast microphones, and typewriters. For more information, visit Furr’s website at amandafurr.com. Rain Bird Gallery is located at 103 Main St. and can be contacted at 830-833-5900.
Interview Requested by BorderlineA for SA Scene Magazine
How Long you’ve Been Doing your Art?
Always. Once I entered school, I would take every art class I could. By age 22 I started painting with a local artist, Ruth Childre,
she was 75 at the time. At 90 now, she is still my best friend and inspiration.
Type Of Art
What I have attempted is a re-creation of our roots, using a realist style with a mostly Italian futuristic color palette and particular detail to stylistic geometrical design.
My work seeks to invoke the emotions that become stirred when those old 1950’s songs are heard.
Preferred Medium
Winsor & Newton oils on wraparound canvas are always my first choice. It is not unusual for me to have 10 paintings in progress at once due to the time it takes for them to dry.
How you Got your Start
As long as I can remember I would create. I started with markers and dot matrix printer paper. My dad, raised to be a preacher,
became an engineer instead and weekly cranked out a mountain of paper for me to scribble on. On Sundays he would take me to the McNay.
His interest in the beauty there inspired me to follow in those footsteps. My dad would frame my best works and by age 5, I was hooked.
Most Common Venue
I show regularly at the Firehouse Art Gallery in Del Rio, Texas and River Art Gallery in La Villita but I move around to several other local venues. The internet age provides me
just the tool I need to share my event places and times with the art seeking community.
Unusual/Interesting Pre- Creation Ritual
Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon movies bring a jovial mood to my days. I like to watch on one of their many movies I have seen over and over, I know them by heart, so I can listen and paint without needing to watch. Sometimes I prefer stand up comedy, the audio component is really important to keep me in stitches while I work. The real challenge becomes trying to keep a steady hand while shaking with laughter.
Artistic Influences
There are so many great artists. I find myself drawn to bold colors and unusual subject matter. The short list would look like this... Fernand Léger, Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Claude Oscar Monet,
Maurits Cornelis Escher, Roy Lichtenstein and of course Salvador Dalí.
Favorite All-Time Artist/Piece of Art
I'm tempted to say Picasso's The Dream, but we have so many amazing artists here in San Antonio as well. I feel I should also mention the Abstracts and Sunsets by Henry Cardenas, Chicano by César Martínez, and Multi-Media by David Guerrero.
Best or Worst Thing to Happen to Art Industry
There is much going on in the Art Industry that you are free to create expressions thru the eyes of your personal world or the world at large.
Favorite Art Gallery/Art Show
The comforts of home and the nostalgia connected to it, lead me to say the McNay. I once took a sculpture class there. It will always hold a special place in my heart and I dream of having my own work exhibited there one day. I was inspired by César Martínez’s Vatos show there many years ago with his
famous piece “Hombre que le Gustan las Mujeres” (The Man Who Loves Women). This piece expresses the constant pull from the major pulls in ones conflicting life.
Favorite Color
Dioxazine Purple for me is the lover whom I can't forget, though I try. I always return.
Any Other Interesting Fact
17 years ago I gave birth to a 10 pound baby after the epidural wore off.
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