Amanda Bee | Biography

I grew up Lincolnshire, by the sea in Skegness. Many happy hours were spent on the beach, playing in the sand dunes, making dens, collecting fossils and shells. I always had a love of drawing and painting and from a young age would confidently declare ‘I am going to be an artist!’

I completed a Degree in Fine Art and Social Context at UWE Bristol. Since graduating I have made the South-West my home settling in Frome, Somerset. I work from a studio in the Silk Mill, a beautifully converted building in the centre of Frome. I am also a fully qualified Adult Education tutor and teach some classes and occasional workshops.

I feel most at home when I’m by the sea. I’m attracted to the wild North Coast of Cornwall and West Penwith. I love the drama and the ancient feel of the landscape.

My abstracted landscape paintings seek to explore the spirit, features and qualities of the places I am instinctively drawn to. By painting these places, I come to understand and know them on a deeper level. My paintings include remembered experiences, sounds, colour, movement. A recreation of place which is deeply personal. My work begins from drawing in situ. These drawings, along with memories are the starting point for the paintings. I work with mixed media. Acrylic paint usually combined with collage, pencils, oil pastels and water-soluble crayons. I like to create uplifting paintings, full of colour, texture, and movement. A celebration of well-loved places which I hope resonates with the viewer.