Street art by Amanda Adkins graces several buildings in downtown Phoenix. Her work has the traditional aspects of oil painting mixed with spray paint that gives it a pop art, street feel. This PVCC Alumna has been painting murals since 2010. Amanda Adkins incorporates her observations of the nature of relationships and Mother Nature into her artwork.
Amanda credits her appreciation for drawing to her PVCC Instructor Joan Ritsch. Amanda exhibited her artistic skills from an early age; however, it was through her coursework at PVCC that she received her first formal training. Professor Ritsch trained her to look at things differently. An assignment that involved inverting an image and drawing it from this “upside-down” perspective refined her appreciation for drawing. This appreciation and understanding has been invaluable in her role as both an artist and an art teacher. Additionally, Amanda credits her PVCC public speaking course for providing her with the ability to feel comfortable doing visiting artist speaking engagements, teaching a Community Mural Making course at ASU and sharing her story through the Arizona Storyteller project.
PVCC prepared Amanda well: academically and organizationally. Her art classes at PVCC influenced the direction of her current work. In her paintings, Amanda uses a wide array of subjects, such as personal symbolisms that represent life’s struggles and triumphs.Her paintings come to her from her dreams, inspiration from nature, and her love of spray paint and graffiti. Her artwork is primarily about the inner connectivity that we have to all. Amanda’s work has been included in group and solo exhibitions and she has painted murals in several locations around Phoenix.