This collection came together slowly, over different seasons of the year. Some pieces were painted in moments of stillness, others in bursts of energy — each carrying its own rhythm and emotion. Though they weren’t all created with one clear theme in mind, they naturally belong together through the same thread of colour, balance, and quiet strength that runs through everything I make.

 

Each painting begins as a search for balance: between light and dark, order and chaos, control and surrender. I work intuitively, following colour and form where they lead, letting the surface build its own rhythm. Within this process, moments of imperfection — a stray brush mark, an unplanned texture, a colour shift — often become the most honest parts of the piece. They remind me that beauty is rarely found in precision, but in the human touch that reveals itself through time and process.

 

If you’d read one of my artist statements from years ago, you’d already have seen how deeply my work relates to the beauty of imperfection. Perfection is unattainable, so why spend our lives reaching for something that can never be real? Some may see that as a compromise, but for me, it’s a conscious choice, a way of living, surrendering and creating that feels both liberating and peaceful and truer to who I am.

 

I’m drawn to the naive charm of childlike drawings, the quirky pottery created with love that will never be replicated, and the friends who don’t tidy before I visit. A “perfect” house never made anyone feel at home. Nature reminds us of this too — in its wildflowers, uneven edges, and the quiet, unapologetic disorder that makes everything feel alive. It’s that unpredictability, that raw authenticity, that continually inspires my work.

 

Each painting is a conversation between structure and freedom, reflecting the tension we all feel in our lives — between order and chaos, expectation and reality. My brushstrokes are rarely perfect, nor are they meant to be. Layers evolve organically, often surprising me along the way. I let each piece unfold in its own time, without forcing control or chasing flawlessness.

 

For me, imperfection isn’t something to fix — it’s something to celebrate. It’s where true beauty lives, where we find freedom, depth, character, and connection. Through my work, I hope to remind others — and myself — that our cracks, layers, and uneven edges are what make us beautifully human: unique, whole, and worthy, just as we are.

 

Essence + Form is a continuation of that belief. In this series, the botanically inspired shapes serve as a language for exploring composition, colour, and atmosphere — the unseen conversations between what we feel and what we show.  Each painting captures a fleeting sense of presence, balancing precision with spontaneity, control with surrender. Together, they celebrate the imperfect harmony that exists when essence finds its form.

 

 

Amanda Ketterer

November 2025