In honor of my sixteenth birthday, my mother and I traveled from my hometown of Memphis to Nashville, Tennessee to see an exhibition of impressionist paintings. I can remember with great vividness how I first felt standing in front of Renoirs and Monets. Everything around me disappeared. My chest tightened, my eyes welled up with tears... I couldn't hear or speak. I was absolutely blown away. The power in those paintings was something that I couldn't define.
When I happened upon Naropa University in the fall of 1995, I was twenty years old and unsure. I signed up as an art major, because, quite frankly, I didn't know what else to do. My experience there would shape me and my art profoundly. At Naropa, along with basic drawing and painting, I studied Japanese calligraphy. This discipline more than any other shaped what painting has become for me. Japanese calligraphy requires mastering the brush-stroke characters as well as noticing oneself and learning to be present. While practicing this, I began to notice the beauty that arrives when one is completely present. It is something more than simple visual beauty, it is something more elusive. It is innate. I believe that this is the beauty that I experienced when I first saw the work of Renoir and Monet. And, although I still cannot define this power that, in glimpses, exists not only in painting, but in music, dance, sports and life...I am inspired to explore this beauty in my life through my painting. My curiosity continues.
DOSE'S BUSINESS:
New mural showcases spirit of the GoPro Mountain Games
Vail Daily
The GoPro Mountain Games’ tagline celebrates athletes, art, mountains and music, and this year the event’s organizing committee capitalized on the art aspect with a permanent mural in Vail Village that reflects the spirit of the Mountain Games...
Vibrant wildlife murals to landmark Eagle
Vail Daily
An Eagle beautification project that was put on hold in 2020 has jumpstarted yet again. Near the East corner of the intersection of Eby Creek Rd. and Chambers Ave., local artist Amy Dose’s three murals will likely be on display later this year.
The paintings will line the Alpine Lumber property in frames built specially to hold the wood panels that the murals are painted on...
New Mural Completed in Vail Health
Vail Daily
The interior of Vail Health has brightened up thanks to a new mural that was completed this week, designed and painted by local artists Amy Dose and Carly Finke.
The recently built east wing of the hospital, which opened in 2020, features a long corridor that connects the emergency care facilities to the surgical rooms. The hallway is a well-trafficked area of the hospital that is frequented by the medical staff, as well as patients going in for surgical procedures.
A Dose of Inspiration
Vail Daily
The newest arrival to Eagle artist Amy Dose’s studio is a 6-foot tall metal-gray-colored boot. The giant cowboy accoutrement was delivered to her Eagle townhouse this week, and over the next few weeks, she’ll cover it in acrylic paint. Dose is one of 12 local artists chosen to paint the oversize cowboy boots for the upcoming Boots on Broadway display...
