Today we’d like to introduce you to Johnnatan Amado.
Johnnatan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Colombia in 1978 and around 2000 I started to practice on my own and mostly made portraits and still life, and once embarked on this journey, I became really obsessed with improving and show more of what I had in m. When I was 19, I had my first art exhibition at the city´s planetarium which was the beginning of series of contests and exhibitions that helped me see myself as an artist, and therefore in 2002 I decided to leave Colombia and come to the USA to try a career as one.
From 2003 to 2013 I was moving around the country always painting and being part of different exhibitions and shows in Greenville, Bogotá, Miami and California. But it wasn’t until 2013 when the idea of Painting with Amado came up. It started with a free show for children in a park in Miami, after the idea started growing and becoming a bigger concept: adult parties, art therapy for special needs and pretty much PWA as we know it. The growth of this idea is something that really overwhelmed me, how it has become part of our student’s lives and how it had influenced their lives. I am truly thankful for all the acceptance it has received.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest struggle has been to be able to cover all the demand of the art classes for all the people that would like to have them.
This project started as a way to promote art with a different approach, where participants learn while and develop their own creativity while having fun. And where everyone can study with us and have the opportunity to be part of the program. So for that reason, it attracts to a lot of institutions but it has been a real struggle to cover them all. We have learned along the way how important is this concept of art being a tool to come together as a society, and we hope in the future to cover all the people´s demand, we really work every day and night to come up with new ways to broaden our horizons.
Please tell us about Painting with Amado.
Painting with Amado promotes art for everyone with classes focused on learning the fundamentals of painting while having fun. Our classes are based on a multi-sensory step-by-step drawing method that meets every student at their level. This, allows students to continually build skills and develop their personal style and creativity, The strongest value we have is the importance of individuality as the most important factor to create art.
We also like the idea of bringing art to everyone, working with children, after school programs, kids with special needs, and adults that want to learn how to paint like they used to when they were kids, offering art classes that can be therapeutical and a way to release stress and being in contact with their creative side.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
I really enjoy the memories coming from my beginning in arts. And how I was into art since I was a small kid, always painting in class and inspiring others to become artists and develop their creativity.
Pricing:
- AFTERSCHOOL ART PROGRAMS: FROM $ 80.00 TO $ 100.00 MONTHLY, PER CHILD
- PRIVATE ART CLASSES: $ 300.00 MONTHLY ( INCLUDES A WEEKLY CLASS)
- ART PARTIES: $500.00 INCLUDES ALL THE MATERIALS, SETTING AND 2 HOURS WITH THE INSTRUCTOR
Contact Info:
- Website: http://www.paintingwithamado.org
- Phone: 7862944061
- Email: Amadopaintings@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/painting_with_amado/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paintingwithamado/
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