The abundance of natural light streaming into Amy Woods’ home studio is ideal for growing plants and, in Woods’ case, for painting them. Scattered about the attic are dozens of paintings of flowers—a bouquet of pink peonies, a vase of bright-yellow tulips—rendered in soothing watercolor palettes.
It’s no coincidence that most of Woods’ work features flowers and other botanicals. For the Ohio native, flowers aren’t just the subject of her art; they’re also a passion.
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“I’m a master gardener,” says Woods, 52. “I like painting from things that exist—not from a photograph—so using my garden as the subject is a natural fit.”
Though watercolor can be daunting for painters, Woods appreciates its unpredictability. “The cloudy moments can be scary and uncomfortable,” she admits. “When you put a line down, it will spread. It can be a mess, but it can also be a wonderful accident.”
The colors and technique draw viewers to the artist’s work, but the composition of her subject matter on the page also woos them.
“Amy has this uncanny ability to create vignettes with her paintings,” says Krissy McArthur, a friend and fellow artist. “She’ll use an interesting vase or put a bouquet on top of a book or a piece of colorful cloth.”
Woods has been painting on and off for years. Two decades ago, she returned to the U.S. from teaching English in China and was at a crossroads, both personally and professionally, when her mother encouraged her to take a watercolor class. “It was a terrible class,” she recalls, “but it got me out of my comfort zone.
“Painting has always kept me sane even when everything else in my life was kind of crazy,” she says. “Sometimes you paint to make beautiful things for others, and sometimes you just paint for you.”
Since then, Woods has learned to juggle the many roles of a small-business owner: “Suddenly, I have to market myself and use social media and write monthly newsletters…all things I enjoy, but I find myself having to make time to actually paint!”
Woods sells her work, including prints, cards, and calendars, through her website and Etsy store. She also teaches a watercolor class at Bowood Farms and conducts private workshops for people in their homes.
Woods would like to find a collaborator with whom she can license her designs as a means of broadening her reach: “Licensing is a collaboration, and I love collaboration.”
In the meantime, she’s focusing on her art and awaiting the time when her garden begins to bloom.
“What you can’t see right now,” Woods explains, “is that my entire yard is filled with flowers. You have to come back and see them.”
Until then, we’ll count on her paintings to show us.
