Amanda Taylor

I am a people watcher and a storyteller and am obsessed with social interactions and the stories I see behind little glimpses of people’s lives.

Initially I was working only from imagination, with the unpredictability of found figures emerging from an abstract. More recently, I have also been using references from Google Street View and images captured from TV documentaries and real life… catching unrehearsed and unselfconscious views of people allows their story to speak for them. Even though I don’t know them, I try to convey their characters and lives through my work.

I work predominantly in acrylics or oils but include drawing media such as ink and charcoal; more recently I am experimenting with loose, abstracted watercolour for my figures and portraits.

I am self-taught, having found my way into painting, after a lifetime of drawing, during first lockdown via online courses. My only art qualification is GCE Art achieved 50 years ago and 1 year of a 3D design part-time degree. Other interests include wood-carving and ceramic sculpture.