Artists Spotlight with Golden State Arts

Written by Maggie Lattke with Golden State Arts

Amanda Jorgenson is a wildlife artist based in Seattle, Washington. She has been a full-time artist for the past four years, and began studying art in 1989. “I grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, where I was constantly surrounded by nature and fascinating creatures, which have found their way into my artwork since I began drawing and painting.” She offers her artwork, art classes, and more on her website, www.amandamjorgenson.com. 

I don't believe in "natural born talent"; it's something we all have to work toward!

After working for eight years as a German language instructor, Amanda found herself becoming burnt out. “I found a note to myself from when I was in 2nd grade saying I wanted to be a wildlife artist and sell paintings to people. That's really what inspired me to get back into the artworld, after years of not drawing or painting.” Her favorite part of being an artist now is observation of the many subjects she paints. “I truly enjoy observing and painting minute details in feathers, flowers, fur, etc. These small details are what make that animal/plant unique. Being able to get those pieces out in front of an audience, and have them see that even the most "common place" animal - such as a crow - is something very intricate and beautiful, makes me happy.” 

"The Scapegoat - Crow Portrait" by Amanda Jorgenson pictured above.

Amanda’s most prized piece is a painting she created in her first series. “The first piece I created in a series (Flora & Fauna of Washington State) was of a snarling Grizzly Bear with Fiddlehead Ferns. There is something about this piece, perhaps the emotion, that still draws me into it.” As such, her favorite subjects to paint are plants and animals. “I strive to bring a little bit of wilderness into the viewers every day and elicit curiosity in indigenous flora and fauna, the rare and elusive species, etc.” 

When beginning a new project or piece, Amanda is often inspired by music. “It doesn't matter the genre, usually I get inspired by a song title, or lyric. This helps me think of what kind of subjects (flora or fauna, or both) I'd like to depict, and doing what. Sometimes it's a bit of a stretch, but it really gets me thinking.” 

"Grizzly Bear With Fiddlehead Fern" by Amanda Jorgenson pictured above.

To aspiring artists, Amanda encourages practice and patience. “Please remember that patience and practice are very important when starting out - or even getting back into art. I don't believe in "natural born talent"; it's something we all have to work toward!” 

Amanda found Golden State Art when searching for backing board and clear bags for her artwork. “Tired of supporting Amazon - I decided to see if there was another shop selling them. I liked the GSA mission statement, and am happy I was able to find them with a quick google search! I've been able to sell prints without having them get damaged (ahem, winter rain here in the PNW) at various sizes with the products I've received from GSA. Starting out, I definitely didn't think of the importance of keeping prints protected, and looking professional!” 

Community Mural Project with EcoArts and Delridge Neighborhood Development Association

Written by Molly Duttry - EcoArts Coordinator for DNDA

Last winter, DNDA staff started a project allowing youth to be part of a beautification project from the safety of their homes. This mural was designed by local artist Amanda Jorgenson and was painted by 45 youth from NewHolly, High Point, and Delridge. This mural is made up of 63 individual 11”-by-14” canvases. Each youth received their own kit with paint, a printout of the mural, and a unique canvas. It was essentially a paint-by-numbers project that would be part of something much bigger.

This mural shows that as a community we can create something truly beautiful and collaborative without being in the same space. Youth were able to connect with other youth across South Seattle and co-create a project that allowed them to take a break from technology. The flowers in this mural are local to Western Washington and signify the growth we have all experienced during this pandemic.

Once the canvases were picked up, we assembled the mural and looked for somewhere the public could see its beauty. The Seattle Office of Arts and Culture graciously offered to show it at King Street Station. The mural is titled Community Garden and will be on display in their gallery from July 22nd to August 16th. After this showing, it will be on display permanently at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center in Delridge. We plan on having a closing celebration to honor the youth, families, and artists that contributed to making this mural. More information to come.

We are incredibly grateful to 4Culture, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and an anonymous funder for their support. Thank you!

Project: Norwegian Flower Mural with Urban ArtWorks

In September, Urban ArtWorks reached out to me to ask if I was interested in designing a mural for a client’s private garden/residence. Since the client is often gone, they didn’t care to plant flowers or other vegetation; instead wanted to have a mural depicting Norwegian flowers that they could look at year round.

In total, the mural covers roughly 4.5’ x 25’ and consists of 4 separate panels which are attached to the client’s fence. The flowers in the mural are as follows:

Alpine sow-thistle (in the two-toned purple) | Giant bellflower (in the yellow) | Water aven (in fuchsia) | Fiddlehead fern (in green) | Round-leaved wintergreen (in two-toned red).

The colors are not true to the flowers natural color; however, this was done with intention, as Seattle winters can be quite grey, so bright, bold colors are necessary to brighten up the area.

Between the project manager, a volunteer, and me, we were able to finish the mural in 3 days. Although if you know an artist, you are well aware that we could have picked at it for an eternity longer.

All in all, I am pleased with the outcome, as is the client, so I couldn’t wish for a better ending to 2019.

In the following pictures we have my cat, Agatha, critiquing my initial designs - tracing the design onto the panels, using a projector - beginning stages of painting and outlining - the completed panels in the Urban ArtWork’s studio - the mural in situ!

The Cascades Carnivore Project

The below video is shot and edited by Environmental journalist: Alison Morrow for KING5 - please watch!

In June 2018 I had the opportunity to tag along with the Cascades Carnivore Project into the Southern Cascades where a wolverine den was recently found. My role was to illustrate and visually document the den and surroundings.

For those of you who don’t know what a wolverine is, you’re not alone here. Many friends I spoke to about my trip thought a wolverine was a small wolf, made jokes about seeing Hugh Jackman in the wild, or thought they were the stuff of legends. Wolverines are cute, yet vicious member of the weasel family, but more closely resembles a little bear, in my opinion.

Its jaws can bite through bone, and it can take down any mid-sized animal to chow down on. Their territory spans into the upper end of the double digits, and they are mostly solitary. I also happen to think they are just too cute (but not something I’d like to run into by my lonesome).

My friend, Bennett Dewan, took the above photo. You can check out more of his wildlife photography at his website: www.bennettdewan.com . He’s truly brilliant.

It must be mentioned that wolverine sightings are incredibly rare, as not only are they elusive, but they were thought to no longer live in the area. Wolverine sightings are a HUGE deal, so to be included in this was absolutely incredible.

The hike (20+ miles in all) in took us across a raging river and over some snow pack, which turned out to be my downfall. After setting up camp, the team and i set out for another few miles to scout out the wildlife cameras and collection stations. This is where scientists/biologist collect samples of fur to see how many wolverines/other species have been visiting the pungent bait - which is dangling from a rope in a tree to lure in interested wildlife- to be photographed.

It appeared that Pepper, the resident female wolverine, whose den we were on our way to visit, visited with her Pepperoni - otherwise known as her kits. So. Stinking. Cute.

Not far from a beautiful lookout of the Cascades, sadly my trip took a turn for the worst. As I was discussing how excited I was to sketch and observe the area the following day, I broke through the thawing snow pack and straight into an underlying tree.

While normally this is not a huge issue, unfortunately for me, a wave of nausea hit and I knew something wasn’t quite right. As it turns out, I managed to sprain my ankle at a Grade 3 level: where I completely tore ligaments in the right side of my ankle, making it very difficult to walk down hill without rolling my already rapidly swelling ankle.

Regardless, I managed to make it to the wolverine den, which was massive! In June, the wolverines had already made their way to their summer home, so there were no run-ins, or needs for quick getaways. It truly was a sight to take in!

An environmental reporter for a local TV station took fantastic footage about the whole trip; you can watch it below, and in a different segment above:

I get a special mention as the “Illustrator Lady”.

Sadly after one day and night, I had to head back to civilization with the KING 5 crew. Crossing over a raging river with a busted ankle was terrifying, and of course, hiking downhill was no treat. It’s truly amazing how much adrenaline (or whatever it was) takes over to get you through to the otherside. As soon as I got into the car, my ankle ballooned to 3 times the size it was whilst hiking.

After realizing I couldn’t drive back into Seattle, I spent the night in Yakima and ate an entire Domino’s pizza by myself while watching “Southern Charm” - truly wonderful and horrifying.

Regardless of the lingering injury, I would really enjoy doing more conservation work - artistically. I gotta get the ankle back up to snuff, as it’s not quite there yet. to go on mountain treks to find the rare and elusive. Hopefully soon enough!

Thanks again to the Cascades Carnivore Project for allowing me to tag along!

You can see my illustrations under the pen and ink section of my website titled: Pepper, the wolverine, and Vulpes Vulpes.