From the canvas to the stage, Rogers local Amy Eichler has always been drawn to the arts. Originally from Fayetteville, she grew up painting with her mother and taking dance lessons, developing a love for both visual and performing arts at an early age.
“I’m thankful to have been able to turn both my passions into careers,” she says. When she’s not painting, Amy is choreographing for school dance teams like Bentonville High School, who have earned 11 Arkansas State Dance Championships, as well as a couple of national titles. But it’s her compositions on canvas that have earned a devoted following, with her work appearing in homes and collections across the country and beyond.
“The process of painting is like a dance to me. I love the technique, energy and emotion that comes out in the performance,” Amy says. “While I mostly paint alone in my studio, I thrive in social painting sessions with other artists or live painting sessions in the community.”
Unlike her work in dance, which is contemplative and orchestrated, Amy’s paintings are created through the swift alla prima process. Also known as “wet-on-wet” or “direct painting,” alla prima painting requires completing a piece in a single session before the layers dry.
“I love painting fast – faster than my mind can judge my work,” she says, adding that she mostly uses three primary colors and white, which are mixed on the canvas through color layering. “This creates so many interesting new colors and could not be achieved if I painted slowly and let layers dry.”
Amy is perhaps best known for her paintings of animals and pets. “I love highlighting the beauty in the animal. I’m drawn to their eyes, their patterns, their expressions. My favorite composition is the front-facing portrait, placing the animal’s eyes in the direct gaze of the viewer,” she says.
“I always hope my work makes people smile, reminds them of something or someone special, and brings a little extra color into their spaces.”
To view more of Amy’s works, visit amyeichlerart.com.