Amanda Szopinski (Western New York, 1982)
Amanda is an American artist born in New York in 1982. The wanderlust artist creates spacious ocean paintings showcasing a perspective of surface and depth. She transitions from water to studio in her days, bringing to the canvas the sensory exposure, allowing for the personal intimacy to transform into technique and detail. Canvas soaked, rich in colors that honor the profound effects the sea has on her. Lost in the movement of the sea, all the energy it provides, and the dynamic changing colors, it has become her muse, touching her soul with every interaction. Amanda takes this flow and transfers it into her process of creating, saturating the canvas with its clarity and depths. Amanda began to paint the ocean and shorelines with more passion after moving to Baja California Sur, MX where she would run, swim and paddle with her dog, Beau. “It was a place to feel free. My respect for the sea and the life it holds became much more raw. I wish to think my art is a way of bringing awareness of it’s beauty, its delicate nature, and how essential the ocean is to our lives.” Experiencing these waters and its sea life gave her all the reasons to be an advocate for its existence. Learning how Cabo Pulmo is thriving because of the community and the protection they gave it, gives hope that others can join together as a community to save our endangered ocean. Through explorations with marine biologists and her medical background, she was exposed to the consequences our plastic, oil, pollution, and inhumane ways have on the sea life and consequently our own health. “We depend on our ocean and the ocean depends on us. I hope to inspire others to love and respect this relationship”
