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.

'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).

Filmed by CCTV

I was filmed recently for the program 'Full Frame' by CCTV. I love it!

Sometimes I listen to what I say when I am filmed and I feel a cringe inside. Perhaps its the editing that seems to reposition thoughts, or the video action doesn't quite seem to match what I am speaking about. Not so with this film. The clip takes its time with the material and interview, allowing the events to unfold spaciously. I'm even happy with the piece I did that day (not always the case!).



Website and written article.

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:

Awesome Video of 'Mussells II'

This awesome video was made by my friends at Element C. It has a very cool use of what is possible then using high resolution photos for the timelapse. I am looking forward to a larger collaboration with this crew.


The Beach Art of AndresAmador from Element C on Vimeo.

Delightful advert for Barefoot Wines

This artwork was commissioned by Barefoot Wines to announce their newest flavor. The video they produced is so playful and fun! A far cry from the tendency towards seriousness that my art can have. The tide, which at first seemed to be out to wreck the day, in the end added a constant element of change and then came on cue to erase the entire piece in dramatic fashion for the camera.

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 '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).

'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

'Mesh' at Allomere Falls, Point Reyes

An incredible location for my first hike-in playa painting. Allomere Falls is a seasonal waterfall that exits right on to the beach. And a beautiful and very suitable beach it turned out to be (we had no idea what to expect).  Work had to be done quickly, so I chose an uncomplicated design. For scale, Ember is the speck in the upper right portion of the beach.

Playa Painting at Allomere Falls, Point Reyes

'Memorium'

Here is the last painting I created during my recent stint in the Bay Area. This one was done in memory of the passing of a close friend's mother. She loved the flowers and the beach.

This design connects the perfection of geometry with the earthly realm of organic form, symbolizing the connecting of spirit and matter that is a living being. The tide represents the passing of all things. A beautiful offering to his mother and to us.

'Substructures III'

Hi friends. Its been a winter of incubation and and gestation. Many exciting doors opening themselves.

The art off the beach test went really well and showed the opportunities revealed by my new quadcopter.

This image is from a test run on the beach getting used to the equipment. On two previous days I discovered my copter battery was dead- missing the chance to photograph two enormous designs, as big or larger than the one here.

Relying on the tech is a little anxiety inducing. As it draws me further from the cliff-side overlook with the promises of capturing a larger tableau, the more reliant I become on it working well- the more variables enter the equation. Such as piloting the copter in windy conditions in such a way that there is good framing of the scene-in the meantime the copter battery last less than 10 minutes.

'Kelp I' new photos!

This one was done at a spot near Fort Bragg, CA that we visited several years back. It was the location of 'Connections'. This time the beach was completely different- more rocky, with larger sand grains which had the sand drying faster. While we were working there were a number of abalone fishermen passing through an otherwise very secluded location.

'Kelp II' 2012 Fort Bragg, CA

'Kelp I' - detail

A new timelapse. This one is at Stinson Beach across the Golden Gate Bridge, north of San Francisco.

'Kelp III' - Timelapse of a beach mural

I've recently been out on the beach taking advantage of the tides that are really good this time of year. Here's a timelapse of one of them.

Filmed by the BBC!

Last year I was flown to the Island of Jersey to participate in an international beach art exposition. It was filmed by the BBC. The film recently came out and here it is!

Playa Painting 'Coral'

Done south of Half Moon Bay. This location is amazing and challenging. The distance is so large that the design peters out towards the back. I'll be doing more on this beach but I'll need to do designs that work better with the location...