About
Amanda is a landscape and plein air painter whose main muse is California. Born and raised in Marin County, she traveled extensively and lived far afield only to return to the land and coastline she loves best.
Early plans to be an artist took a backseat when Amanda fell hard for archaeology. The study of ancient rock art sites, theories concerning the origin of art, and collaborative projects with indigenous communities became the bulk of her career. She also authored two non-fiction books, excavated sites internationally, and helped develop numerous museum exhibits for cultural sites and historic places.
Today, Amanda’s come full circle—back to her great and true love, painting—and all that came before culminates in how she makes art now.
Amanda holds a Master of Arts in Archaeology from the University of British Columbia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from The University of California, Berkeley (Phi Beta Kappa). She is also a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute, London, and recipient of the Connie Smith Siegel Landscape Painting award (2025).
Artist Statement
I’m drawn to poetic scenes and dramatic light. Bold shadows and boxy shapes, backlit hills, and golden hour. For years, I worked as an archaeologist. I studied the land to understand it in the deepest possible way—digging for knowledge with a trowel. But now I use a paint brush.
What stories does the land hold? What meaning is seen and what is unseen? When I’m outside painting, I’m always thinking about the layers of a place. The buried history underfoot. Shared vistas and skies. Deep time. Environmental change. Why certain places inspire people to gather over and over again. I seek the intrinsic vibration and life of the land.
I love to paint open roads, sunsets, highway signs, tree lines, and rolling hills. Wild beauty in relationship with human experience. California is my main muse, and I find my inspiration in her land and light.