When did you start your creative practice and why?
My artistic journey began during lockdown, when I rediscovered my love for painting after about four years away from creating since leaving school. At the time, I was looking for a new direction and a career I felt passionate about. Painting had always been something I loved when I was younger, so it felt like the right moment to reconnect with this and see where this could lead.
How would you describe your artistic style to someone unfamiliar with your work?
My work is quite eclectic, as I love painting both portraits and cityscapes. My portraits focus on expressive brushstrokes and layering abstraction with realism. My cityscapes are more detailed, often inspired by rainy night scenes where there’s a strong contrast between the city lights and the background. Across both styles, vibrant colour is a key theme which I use to capture the atmosphere and energy of a scene.
What themes or ideas do you find yourself returning to most often?
I love capturing Sheffield cityscape scenes and have created a collection of paintings inspired by my favourite places around the city. From local restaurants, pubs and areas of the city that I love visiting, to iconic venues such as The Leadmill. Whenever I visit somewhere that resonates with me, I like to take photos so I can paint these places in the future.
I take a lot of inspiration from my surroundings, whether it’s places I’ve visited, or nature and the changing seasons. I also like to paint intuitively and explore the dynamic nature of our inner world through colour and abstract painting.
What is your creative process from idea to finished piece is it always the same?
This can vary depending on the piece - most often I start by taking reference photos and creating sketches to experiment with composition and colour schemes. From there, I move onto the painting itself, usually beginning with a colourful underpainting to add vibrancy to the piece, then sketching the outlines, and starting to build up the layers and details.
Alternatively, especially with abstract pieces, I don’t have as much of a plan/ sketch to work from, as I enjoy painting intuitively and letting the artwork evolve throughout the painting process.
Is there a particular piece of yours that feels especially meaningful? Why?
Last year I was commissioned to create a custom painting of racing driver Rowan Campbell-Pilling to celebrate his incredible Formula 4 season. As part of the collaboration I got to visit the British Grand Prix at Silverstone to take the reference photos for the painting, which was incredible to experience the atmosphere of the race and incorporate this energy into the painting.
We then launched Limited Edition Prints of the painting to raise money for Sheffield Children’s Hospital Charity, which made the project even more meaningful. As both Rowan and I are from Sheffield, supporting a local charity that means so much to us made it really special.
What do you find challenging as an artist, and how do you overcome these challenges?
It can be challenging balancing all aspects of being an artist - such as running my website and social media accounts, packaging orders, marketing and promotion etc, as well as actually painting. I try to balance my time as much as possible to ensure I have enough time to focus on building up my collections, new work and commissions, while still focussing on running my business.
Do you ever have creative blocks, how do you keep motivated?
Whenever I feel stuck on a painting, I’ll usually have some time away from the piece and work on something new / another work in progress. Having that bit of distance helps me return with new perspectives and more motivation.
How has your style or perspective evolved over time?
At the beginning of my journey I focussed mainly on pen and ink drawings, before moving onto paintings using acrylic, oil pastel and spray paint on canvas. Over the years I have explored a range of styles, from abstracts to more recently portraits and cityscapes - all of which have influenced my style to where it is now.
My abstract portrait collection was a key point in developing my current style, as before this I focussed on solely abstract works or very detailed realism paintings. I found these were two very contrasting styles and, as I loved creating both, I wanted to find a way of blending my favourite aspects of each style together. This collection focusses on capturing the energy of the person through the expressive abstract background, before focussing on the detail of the portrait to capture the likeness.
Have you got a project / award/ residency/ or idea are you excited to share with us?
I recently won the Peak District Artisans Emerging Artist Award - I’ll be receiving the award during my debut exhibition at Hopton Hall Gallery, and I’m really looking forward to showing my work in this new and exciting space.
My full collection of original abstract portraits will be on display there - the first time the entire series will be exhibited together in one place, which feels like a really exciting milestone for my artistic journey.
What is your website and how do we find you on social media?
Website: www.amadoraart.com
Instagram: @amadora.art
TikTok: @artbyamadora
Facebook: Art By Amadora
