Horizon Fine Art — Amy Poor
About Horizon Fine Art — Amy Poor
When Amy was about 3 years old, a few of her favorite things were her red hoppity-hop named Sapphire, and old gentle mare named Mama Horse, the barn cats and most notably, drawing. It was not uncommon for her to draw pictures of horses and family members every day for hours on end. Though drawing pictures is common for many young children, the uncommon thing about Amy was that she knew without a doubt that someday she would be an artist. Her parents always were most supportive, not asking her what she wanted to be when she grew up, but, "You need to be an artist!". Though neither of them had any idea of what being an artist entailed, they figured at college, she could find out.
Amy started her freshman year at Utah State University the fall of 1990, but quickly became impatient with the requirement that she had to wait nearly two years before she could take part in a hands-on art class. It wasn't long before she transferred to Eastern Oregon University where she was involved in as many art classes as she could handle. At the University, under the instruction of Ian gallery, a family friend and watercolorist, Amy's style began to take form.
After four years Amy was armed with a degree in Fine Art, but her career was placed on hold as she had married her high school sweetheart, just bought a home, and was expecting her first child. The business of supporting and raising a family suddenly took priority over all else. The next two years were spent as a forestry technician with the U.S. Forest Service, as did her husband, as a wild land fire fighter. Then the couple took teaching positions in their hometown of Union. Amy taught Social Studies, loved her job, but after receiving some critical and sage advice from a cousin in the art business, she knew "it was time". Over the next year, her husband's office was converted into a magazine and book-reference library where she studied all aspects of wildlife painting and the art market, as well as developing a plan of action.
With a new body of work, a targeted clientele, and slide copies of her artwork, she applied to three large juried shows and four galleries. To her surprise, she was accepted in all three shows and later contacted by galleries around the West. Amy is now fulfilling her dream as a career artist, discovering what themes work best for her while strengthening and defining her style. Amys highly unique watercolor/acrylic mixed-media pieces have been acclaimed as vivid, moody, and flooded with emotion. She believes that strong movement in a piece is critical to its success. Even if the subject is physically inactive, she tries to capture the sense of movement through composition of the subject. Amy's portraits of bison, wild horses, bears, and elk evoke a new sense of life in an almost ancient style of painting. Her limited use of natural colors and distinctive style are undoubtedly not traditional, but have distinguished her as an upcoming artist because her work has appealed to collectors from contemporary to traditional, as well as somewhere in between.
As for future plans, Amy is committed to doing much more of the same, feeling that she has just scratched the surface of what can be accomplished in the art market world.
"The possibilities are endless, you just have to ferret them out!"
