Amy Twisdale: Peace, Paints, Plants

An artist’s work is a reflection of their soul. Each piece takes time and a lot of heart.

Art has always been a part of Amy Twisdale’s life in some capacity. Her work is especially unique as she creates in layers using newspaper and her paints.

“My paintings have become so layered that there’s paintings under there that look totally different…it’s like a little secret that only I know.”

Although she grew up in Hampton Roads, her family’s roots in rural Appalachia in North Carolina and their own interest in growing influenced her love of the natural world.

“My mom would have me pick the little cherry tomatoes out of her garden in the summer and I enjoyed doing that so much and I knew innately that I loved having my hands in the soil.”

Being around a lot of green is one of Amy’s biggest inspirations. She admitted that she moved to the Norfolk area from Brooklyn so she could be more surrounded by plants. It’s spots like the back patio of Norfolk’s Zeke’s Beans & Bowls and the planting space at Toast that bring that natural inspiration. 

Keeping and painting plants is her escape from her stressful job working with kids in tough home situations. After listening to these kids’ stories, she turns to her motto of peace, paints, plants. 

“Working with human beings for a living in their most vulnerable moments in life, it’s taught me how multilayered everyone is.”

Check out Amy’s website to see more of her artwork.

This episode was filmed by Laura Christian and edited by Josh Wingard.