It was such a pleasure to share a conversation with Amy Lincoln about creating a successful solo show! Amy is a New York-based artist who makes imaginative, intensely hued paintings of the natural world. She currently has a solo show on view at Sperone Westwater Gallery in NYC and Amy shares with me her process for preparing for this particular show. We talk about the challenges associated with putting together a show in a time crunch verses the benefits of planning ahead when you can. Amy shares some strategies for how she sets herself up to feel good about a solo show including finding the minimum amount of art you need to create to fill the space and working out from there.
Amy was raised in a family of music and art appreciators and vowed from a young age that she would never stop drawing or painting, even though she didn’t necessarily anticipate growing up to become an artist. Amy’s work reflects the childhood she had in Oregon and recent paintings depict beach scenes with sun rays, storms, character-filled clouds and more. Amy has an affinity for simplicity and pairing down her practice and process to the essentials. She tells me her strategy for limiting choices within her work, whether that is palette, a point of focus or panel size, in order to feel more focused in the studio and create a strong and cohesive body of paintings. A mindset she picked up in graduate school, Amy’s sensibility to prioritize logistics and practicality in her studio practice means she’s reserving energy for her work and avoiding “reinventing the wheel” or creating new sets of problems every time she’s in the studio.
We also talk about her decision to have kids despite the overwhelming questions she had wondering if a person could actually be a successful artist while also being a parent. While Amy is now working full time as an artist, she shares honestly about the many years she juggled part time jobs including bookkeeping, catering, prop styling and more so that she could make ends meet to pay rent in NYC before her work started selling consistently. Amy shares honestly about the juggling that occurs and flexibility needed to make her life as an artist and parent of two young kids work for her and her family.
Check out Amy’s solo show currently up at Sperone Westwater through the end of October 2021 and enjoy this relevant conversation now or visit it again when you are preparing for a solo show in the future! It will definitely give you lots of inspiration for your process.
Final Five:
Art crush: David Hockney
Travel: Oregon to see family
Favorite Meal: Husband’s “Utica Greens”
Shout out: Her Mom & Husband
To see more of Amy’s work be sure to head to her website or follow her on IG @amyplincoln
The Artist/Mother podcast is created and hosted by Kaylan Buteyn. You can see more of Kaylan’s work on her website or connect with her on Instagram @kaylanbuteyn
Thanks so much to our sponsor COZI for helping us bring you this episode! Cozi is a surprisingly simple family calendar that can help busy families stay organized and well connected!
