Interview with Amanda Oleander
conducted by Ali McPherson
AMANDA OLEANDER IS A FINE ARTIST AND THE ART QUEEN OF SOCIAL MEDIA. WITH EACH PIECE OF ART, OLEANDER IS TURNING THE ART WORLD AROUND.
Los Angeles based Fine artist Amanda Oleander is fascinated by what people do behind closed doors. It is the quiet moments we take for granted that Amanda Oleander focuses on. At only twenty-nine years old, Oleander has a dominant social media presence of over 700,000 followers on just Instagram alone. Originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Oleander moved to Los Angeles permanently after receiving her Fine Arts degree from the University of North Carolina.
Oleander’s work bridges fine art, technology, performance art, and commercial work. To name a few, she has been featured in The New York Mag, Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and The Hollywood Reporter.
Her ability to create something beautiful from the mundane is what makes her such a popular artist. She bases her art on conversations she has had with friends, and creates illustrations that mirror her own love life; recreating the sweet moments that her and her boyfriend of two years Joey Rudman share. A true artist in her own right, Oleander makes the uncomfortable, day to day moments, a work of art. Oleander illustrates what you wouldn’t find in a photograph.
Ali McPherson: What inspired you to become an illustrator?
Amanda Oleander: I was inspired to become an artist for a living in my early college years when I first took an art class. I ended up in a class with mostly art majors and that’s when it clicked that this is a career choice. I never met a full-time artist before and my parents aren’t artists so I just never thought about it as a career until then. I immediately changed my major. One of the best decisions I have ever made.
AM: Who are your role models/inspirations in the Art community?
AO: I am very inspired by Tim Burton, Alice Neel, Amedeo Modigliani and Shel Silverstein. I love Burton’s illustrations. I have his art book; it’s a collection of hundreds of his drawings and they are amazing. I love the dark humor that his drawings usually come with. As for favorite movies I can’t pick one, I would say Edward Scissorhands, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and Beetlejuice.
“CREATE EVERYDAY. GET YOUR WORK ONLINE. THIS IS THE BEST TIME IN ALL OF HISTORY TO BE AN ARTIST.”
AM: How did you catch your big break?
AO: I got hired as E! Entertainment’s full-time in house illustrator a year after graduating college. I would send out my résumé every night to every site I could find including Craigslist and was called by a talent scout from Onward Search they got me the interview with E!.
AM: What advice would you give to for young men and women who want to be successful illustrators and artists?
AO: Create everyday. Get your work online. This is the best time in all of history to be an artist. There are so many opportunities and so many ways to make a good living as an artist. Educate yourself, put in the work and create from the heart, everything else will fall into place.
AM: If you could travel to any time period for a specific painting or art work/performance where would you go?
AO: I would love to have been a fly on the wall watching Alice Neel paint Andy Warhol in 1970.
AM: Who is one person you would love to illustrate in the future and why?
AO: My future child, because I love her so much already and she isn’t even created yet. Maybe in a couple years.
For more information on Amanda Oleander’s work, you can visit her website amandaoleander.com and follow her social media.
Twitter: @AmandaOleander
Instagram: @amandaoleander
Spring 2019 Issue, Interview
