An Exploration of Expression
Excelling across multiple genres and mediums
Brandy Amstel’s paintings of meditative abstracts and transcendent landscapes as well as her sculptures of feminine figures and spiritual beings, all acknowledge her to be an artist who is continually exploring and refining her technique. The diversity of her style and fluency in which she creates reveal that innate ability often described as a gift, but which is truly the result of deep conviction and dedication towards her creative expression.
Brandy Amstel is an award-winning Texas sculptor, painter and filmmaker. She has a passion for using her gifts, skills and talents to generate a deeper spiritual conversation about the human experience and what it means to live from love, freedom and full self-expression while being present to our interconnectedness.
Brandy’s expression through art started at an early age while she was living on a remote ranch in far west Texas near the Big Bend National Park. She grew up without electricity, without telephone and limited contact with the outside world. She learned a different way to relate to nature and Mother Earth through deep connection, gratitude and appreciation. Her days were filled with adventures of exploration on her horse through the vast countryside with breathing space to reflect on beauty, love and art. Brandy was able to immerse herself in the lifestyle her ancestors had experienced coming from a long line of cowboys and cowgirls that were instrumental in founding Texas and making it the great state that it is today. She was fascinated by the remnants of the Native Americans that once occupied this land and were a part of her heritage.
In the series, The Last Frontier, you will get a taste of her passion for where she grew up and her love for Santiago Peak. It is a huge mountain that majestically asserted it’s presence each time, Brandy walked out of her home, leaving an impression that will never be forgotten. Her use of color, texture and richness express a feeling of infinite beauty and peace with each sweeping landscape of a place frozen in time. Her influences were the Impressionists of the 19th century, particularly Monet.
As Brandy matured, she journeyed across the state deep into the piney woods of East Texas to attend Stephen F. Austin State University where she formally studied painting and sculpture. She expanded her exploration of additional native tribes, including the Aztec and Mayans, and their forms of expression through art. Many of Brandy’s early sculptures reflect their influence.
As a young adult navigating the world and life on her own, Brandy explored the corporate world. This provided an opportunity for her to understand more about the viewer or the customer and how to evoke an experience within them from looking at art…in this particular instance it was looking at window displays. Brandy quickly climbed the ranks to a ceiling that couldn’t keep her contained. In 1998, she launched her first company as a creative entrepreneur and claimed a life of freedom, a life by her design and now she expresses herself through her art and shares it with others so that they too can express themselves in their own lives.
The Awakening Series, reflects her experience as a budding entrepreneur and the struggles that she encountered to gain answers in her own life. Along the way, Brandy felt the desire to express in an even bigger way and felt compelled to tell her stories not only through Fine Art, but to express through moving pictures. She embarked on a whole series of films to expand her reach and telling stories that raise people’s awareness, shifting their perceptions, and inspiring them to live life to the fullest. Her award-winning films have screened around the world touching the lives of thousands.
As Brandy continues to grow and expand as a human being, she has been open to the energetics of creation. Instead of making something because that is how it has always been done, shifting to feeling out the energy that is present and wants to be expressed. You can see this shift in the “Enlighten Me” Series as she explores light and dark, the duality of life, and allowing. Brandy’s art has become even more authentic and about expression on a much bigger level.
With this expanded awareness and reconnecting with the truth of who she really is, Brandy has a heightened sense and appreciation of beauty and excellence, which is apparent in her commissioned work with people to capture the essence of their exotic car. She helps car enthusiasts to connect with the spirit and passion and helps them to further enhance their car experience.
Brandy is pioneering a new kind of art and expression. One that is less constrained by the past, less dictated by the way things are supposed to be done, less about the labels and more about expression of energy however it comes out, more about how it makes the viewer feel and more about what transformation occurs within the viewer as a result of being a part of the expression.
Her current body of work is about exploring the feminine energy and how to bring about real positive change in the world through the arts. As Brandy’s work continues to evolve expect to see more powerful images of women, majestic animals, beautiful exotic cars, rich, deep textures and bright colors while utilizing film and conversation to deepen the experience and impact of art.
