Amanda Nolan is a painter based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her work explores how moments leave traces—shaping and reshaping over time. Using nostalgia as a lens, Amanda intuitively paints from memory, focusing on the interplay between stillness and transformation. Her ongoing series, Arrangements, features flowers as stand-ins for people, places, and memories. Through the delicate, layered textures of her paintings, Amanda evokes feelings of presence, absence, and the passage of time. Her process seeks reconciliation between permanence and impermanence, embracing both clarity and ambiguity along the boundaries of recollection.
ConsiderBeyond: Tell us about your artistic approach and what ‘beautiful art’ means to you.
Amanda: My artistic approach is rooted in intuition and memory. I’m inspired by the way moments, emotions, and memories affect us, shaping who we are. I paint with a sense of exploration, applying thin layers of paint and wiping it away to reveal the subject, like how time alters and redefines our experiences. For me, it’s about capturing a balance between stillness and change, presence and absence, clarity and ambiguity. To me, “beautiful art” isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about connection. It’s something that resonates, stirs emotion, and lingers in your mind. Beautiful art doesn’t have to be perfect. I don’t think anything can be. it just has to feel honest and meaningful.
ConsiderBeyond: What emotions or thoughts do you hope to evoke in viewers when they encounter your art?
Amanda: I hope my work evokes a sense of quiet reflection—an emotional pause where viewers feel both the presence of something familiar and the weight of something fleeting. I want them to think about the marks their own experiences and relationships have left on them. Whether it’s the joy of connection or the ache of loss, I hope my paintings help them find meaning in even the unresolved aspects of those moments.
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ConsiderBeyond: Flowers and plant life are central symbols in your work. Is there a specific type of flower that holds special meaning for you?
Amanda: While I don’t focus on one specific type of flower, each one I paint carries its own significance based on the memory, feeling, or story it represents. Flowers, in general, are powerful symbols for me because they embody dualities—beauty and fragility, life and decay, celebration and mourning. I don’t paint from reference, so I call my flowers “imaginary” or my “ghosts”. It’s not about the type of flower—it’s the arrangement, the context, and the mood they convey that hold the most meaning for me. Each bloom becomes a stand-in for something personal, yet open to interpretation by the viewer.
ConsiderBeyond: What role does color play in your work? Are there palettes or combinations that resonate deeply with you?
Amanda: Color plays a central role in my work, serving as both an emotional guide and a narrative layer. I use color to define the edges of my figures as well as to convey the mood or memory I’m trying to capture. I use soft, muted tones often evoke nostalgia or introspection and more vibrant hues bring a sense of energy or tension. I’m drawn to the earthy palettes I remember from my grandmother’s garden—warm yellows, dusty pinks, deep greens, and muted blues. These combinations resonate deeply with me, as they reflect both the beauty and impermanence of nature. The way colors interact—sometimes harmonizing, sometimes clashing—mirrors the complexities of memory and emotion I explore in my work.
ConsiderBeyond: If you could give one piece of advice to someone beginning their journey in the art world, what would it be?
Amanda: My advice would be to focus on your own process rather than getting caught up in external pressures. The art world can be noisy, and it's easy to get distracted by what others expect or what's "trending." But the most valuable work comes from what feels personal and true to you. Don't be afraid to experiment, fail, or change your approach along the way. It's okay if it doesn't always go the way you expect. Just keep showing up and making—your perspective will find its way.
ConsiderBeyond: If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
Amanda: I would love to collaborate with Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. I’m drawn to the way she blends portraiture with abstraction, creating emotionally charged yet enigmatic figures that feel timeless. Her work carries a sense of narrative and psychological depth, which resonates with my interest in memory, presence, and absence. We each approach creating imaginary subjects in unique ways, and I’d love to explore how our distinct styles could come together.
Amanda Nolan’s art is a meditative exploration of memory, emotion, and the inevitable passage of time. Through her poetic imagery and textured layers, she invites us to pause and reflect, offering a poignant reminder of the beauty found in life’s ephemeral moments. Her work lingers in the mind, much like the quiet resonance of a cherished memory.
Photos by
Amanda Nolan
