Free Form Structure

I created this piece, which I call ‘Fields III’ on a remote beach in Northern California on a gorgeous winter day while my wife and son worked on their own art and explored the cave seen in the photo. 

This artwork is a culmination of two opposite directions in my work development- order and chaos.

Mandala III- Earthscape Group Artwork

Here is the result of a recent Playa Painting workshop done in Cape Cod.

Recently returned from my San Diego tour

I just got home from a week in San Diego leading workshops and making art on the beach. I am feeling beat as it was a fuuulll schedule. But I was always around friends and supporters and that felt good.

Here's a run down of the artworks made...

On the first day I invited the public to participate and here is one slice of a long stretch of beach:

That evening I made an appearance at the gallery reception of my artwork at Bliss 101 in Encinitas. If you are in the San Diego area, check out my prints which are really well done!

On the next day I led a group memorial for which I led the meditation artwork workshop and together we created this:

New Playa Painting: "Path"

photo: Jonathan Clark

I was at this beach doing a project for Epson a couple of days prior and saw the rare state of the beach- wet sand going to the wall and sand the entire stretch of beach. That is generally not the case. I had never walked on the beach at the bottom of the photo- it is mostly rocks and water, and usually the beach at the top is underwater. So I knew I had to come back to take advantage of the space and perfection of the beach.

This piece was made using a new technique that allows me to create large even lines and effectively work with helpers. It was quite an effort, and I'm amazed my helpers stuck it out to the very end.

International Peace Belt

photo by S. Smith Patrick

I had the honor to be selected as an artist with the International Peace Belt Project. This is a hand made chain link belt adorned with precious stones and coins from all over the world that is worn by an artist while they create and artwork. It has been worn by dancers, painters, musicians, and on this day I wore it (as a bandoleer) while raking a prayer mandala on the beach near San Francisco.

The belt is a part of the organization Artists for World Peace, which is a humanitarian group that brings needed services to communities around the world. The belt, charged with the energy of whichever artist it has been with then goes with the team to the areas where the humanitarian programs are being done. Its an amazing organization with a beautiful spirit and goal.

The day I did my artwork was filmed and will be combined with documentation of the other artists involved.

photo by S. Smith Patrick

'Flow'

I did this piece late in 2014 in a pocket of beach that I love working in. I consider it among my best pieces. The inspiration was Japanese-styled water/smoke lines. For scale you can see the people walking along the water's edge towards the right (made visible by the long shadows they are casting).

'Substructures' - Public Demonstration Artwork

I'm pulling this up from the archives...

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It's been a while since I last did a public art-making in San Francisco and wow- what a great day to do it. A huge crowd gathered to watch the process on a gorgeous, sunny afternoon. My buddy Jonathan Clark made a film of the event that is really well done!

[Update: this was the first collaboration between Jonathan and I and since then we've traveled to several countries and made many more videos and tons of amazing photos.]

Mini Doc for Uplift Entertainment

I was profiled for the cable station Uplifting Entertainment, a station that focuses on- yep, you guessed it- uplifting content. I appreciate its uptempo yet calm pacing and I like that I am speaking energetically and not ponderously (I can get pretty critical of how I come across when speaking). I'm even happy about the design I did (though there weren't shots that showed the whole thing from higher up- I suppose those didn't turn out so well). The crew was a joy to work with and I thank them for creating a lovely clip that I am psyched to share!

Andres Amador, Earthscape Artist from eBreezy Media on Vimeo.

Playa Painting Aerial Zoom- 'Shine'

This artwork was made for our boy, Kavi Vayu, who had not yet been born (he's one month old today!). We dedicated it to him as a message that could serve him throughout life. In it we depict a mandala within a circle. There are many other circles floating about, each of which, it is inferred contains its own mandala. The visible mandala is sending out rays of energy which touch and spread out amongst the other circles. It signifies how each of us is the mandala sending out our energy into the world, illuminating and affecting all those around us. The best we can do in this life is to be the powerful expression of whomever we are. This is a visual representation of that idea.

On CBS Evening News!

I was interviewed for CBS about a month ago and it just aired tonight. I am not so thrilled with the artwork I made. It was the first time trying the design and many things came to me as I was doing it and then as I was able to look from above. Many changes I would make. I have to be easier on myself for having still-in-development art being filmed. Its hard to receive attention of praise for something I don't feel as complete with. And this I would consider one of those moments. However, I appreciated how they approached and edited the piece and the interview.

Here's the clip:

A Voyager's Heart

A lovely film done by James Yager for PBS.


Voyager's Heart: Andres Amador - Earthscape Artist from James Yager on Vimeo.

Playa Painting- Mussels II

A gorgeous morning in SF and the largest crowd I have yet had witness me in action. At one point I heard a loud ruckus from above and looked up to see that a jogger and her dog had run through the piece and was being loudly boo'ed. I have long ago stopped stressing about clueless beach goers trampling the canvas. But I must admit it felt vindicating- that others were feeling protective of what I was making.

Playa Painting- 'Geoglyph'

'Geoglyph'

This was done for a mini doc for KQED in San Francisco. In it I use elements of Pre-Colombian art overlaid on a background of cracks. It has me thinking of the art being chiseled on stone. I like how it turned out. It is definitely a direction to play with more.

Playa Painting- Xiuhcóatl

 In honor of being in Mexico and of being on a long, thin beach, here is a representation of Xiuhcóatl, the Aztec fire serpent, the light that drives out the darkness. While we were finishing, an elder who felt ancient yet vibrant came walking along the beach with his staff. It felt so beautiful and appropriate.

Playa Painting 'Corriente'

A piece inspired by Mexican prehistoric art. It's done at Patzcuarito, a gorgeous beach south of Sayulita, Mexico. It's long and quite narrow, not so ideal for a design that needs a bit of spaciousness to be fully expressed. Also, we're still getting a handle on the tide timing and we have been getting broadsided by the returning tide. So next time it must be something long, thin, and quick to make! For scale you can see the house on the left just up the hill (and Ember is the figure at the lower middle part of the photos).

Playa Painting- Kelp IV

Here is a variation of the Kelp theme, this time placing little holes that create the feeling of a creature. In the original design there are little tentacles/feelers/filters coming out of the holes, but that got too busy so I nixed it.

This work was done for a couple working on a documentary on creativity that is in currently in post production. Progress on their work can be seen here.

photo by Michelle Ranson

Profile Film of Me!

Here is an artist profile done by Ovation TV, sponsored by Subaru. Its the best quality film of my and my work yet done. While I don't care for the commercialism, I'm super psyched about what the film crew created.

'Mesh' at Allomere Falls Video Flyover

Here is a brief flyover of the piece done at the awesome Allomere Falls in southern Point Reyes Park where the waterfall is spilling out onto the beach- epic! I had attempted to do a fly-in from the ocean but turned out I wasn't recording(!) That would have been awesome. But there's this for now...

'Kelp' at Stinson Playa Painting Timelapse

These paintings were done as a profile of me for Ovation TV. The top one is the actual day of filming. The other two are the previous two days of practice. The day of the filming was a glorious one. I will post the final product as soon as it is available for the public.

The big day. And it did feel like a big one- it was an actual film crew from L.A.- definitely the most serious film project I've been involved with.


Day 2 of practice. Leaves are getting bigger...

Day 1 of practice

Mandala group art creation

This is a timelapse of the making of a henna-inspired mandala by a group of family members who commissioned me to direct the creation of a marriage proposal. Everything about this day was stellar. And the group worked amazingly well together as the video shows.