Amy Newland lives on the edge of a forest in Royalston, Massachusetts.  To quiet the daily onslaught of breaking news, she rambles in the woods.

The immediate effect of these rambles is calming. The woods are full of life—complex, mysterious, and majestic.

But because the woods also show signs of stress and collapse, she simultaneously sees a microcosm of the larger world. She thinks about beauty within chaos, impermanence, and not knowing. Her paintings are mental and emotional interpretations of her environment, sparked into being by the presence of trees.

Birth year: 1953

Secondary education: Antioch College, Bennington College, Smith College, UMass

Creative influences (people): Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Jean-Édouard Vuillard, Philip Guston, Janice Nowinski

Creative influences (other): rural habitat, Buddhist philosophy

Favorite quote: “Until death it is all life.” -Miguel de Cervantes