About the Artist
Amy R. Peterson
Amy R. Peterson resides in Trussville, AL, near her native Birmingham, AL. Amy is known for her Birmingham city scenes; Cahaba River paintings; interiors; still life; and landscapes. She is a member of the Oil Painters of America; the American Impressionist Society; the Alabama Plein Air Artists; the Mountain Brook Art Association; and the Cahawba Art Association. She serves on the Arts and Sculpture committee at Aldridge Gardens and was a long time volunteer with the Art Program at First Light (Women's Shelter) of Birmingham and Very Special Arts.
Her paintings can be found at Regions Bank and the Legacy Art Trail; UAB; Medical Properties Trust; Stewart-Perry; and in private collections internationally. Amy coordinates art shows around the greater Birmingham area and instructs weekly classes and regional workshops. She co-chaired the Alabama Bicentennial art exhibit that toured 10 cities from 2018-2019. She is the President and co-founder of the Cahaba Homestead Heritage Foundation, and in 2023, designed and led the fundraising efforts for three gateway monuments in Trussville's historic district.
Exhibitions / Awards / Community:
2026 “Homespun Transcendence” Solo Exhibit at Gadsden Museum of Art (August-September)
2025 “Serendipity and Serenity” Two-woman show with Dawn Whitelaw (September-October)
2025 August 20th Lunch and Learn (Preview and Gallery Talk) Beverly McNeil Gallery
2025 American Impressionist Society Associate Member Online Juried Exhibition
2024 Huntsville Museum of Art 32nd Annual Gala
2023 American Impressionist Society Associate Member Online Exhibition
2023 "Visions of the Black Belt" Fall Exhibition at Aldridge Gardens
2023 "Alabama A to Z" 45th Biennial Museum Exhibition, Montgomery Art Guild
2023 Huntsville Museum of Art 31st Annual Gala
2022 Oil Painters of America 31st annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils
2022 Honorable Mention, American Impressionist Society Associate Member Online Exhibition
2022 Alabama Art Summit, guest panelist “Art for Social Good”
2022 “Winter Light” Solo Exhibition, Gadsden Museum of Art
2021 "Sanctuary" Solo Exhibition Selma, Alabama
2021 Cahaba Sun feature
2021 UAB Health and Medicine Article
2021 June - July “Close to Home” at Trussville Public Library
2021 Peony Project in conjunction with UAB's CAPP Program
2021 Merit Award, American Impressionist Society Associate Member Online Juried Exhibition
2021 “Light & Air” Exhibition at Tennessee Valley Museum of Art
2021 Artists on Location, Knoxville, TN
2021 American Impressionist Society Annual Small Works Showcase
2020 Oil Painters of America 29th annual National Juried Exhibition of Traditional Oils
2020 Montgomery Art Guild 54th annual Region's Bank Juried Exhibition
2019 Best in Show (Oil) at the 61st Gadsden Art Association Juried Exhibition
2019 American Impressionist Society 3rd Annual Small Works Showcase
2019 One Woman Show "Town and Country" Beverly McNeil Gallery, Birmingham , AL
2019 One Woman Show, Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts, Florence, AL
2018 "Alabama Then and Now" touring Alabama Bicentennial Exhibition, Co-Chair
2018 "Alabama Then and Now" Interview
2018 Trussville Tribune local artist spotlight
2018 Gadsden Museum of Art Spring Plein Air Invitational, "Best Cityscape" Award
2017 Art Galleries and Artists of the South Vol 14 Issue 1
2017 Hoover's Magazine June issue
2017 One Woman Show, Aldridge Gardens
2016 Styleblueprint FACES of Birmingham Interview http://styleblueprint.com/birmingham/everyday/amy-peterson-faces-birmingham/
2016 Oil Painters of America Salon Exhibition
2016 Alabama Plein Air Artists' Juried Show - 2nd Place Award
2016 Gadsden Museum of Art's Spring Plein Air Invitational - "Outstanding Body of Work" Award
2015 Mountain Brook Art Association Spring Show - Award of Distinction
2014 Bluff Park Art Association - August Moore Purchase Award
"Plein air painting can feel like an athletic sport! I love the challenge. It keeps you on your toes; there is no time to overthink! At the same time, it requires that we slow down and be present... Observe... Take it in. Color excites me! Our eyes simply see light and color differently than a camera lens interprets them; think of sunrises, twilight, sunsets, clouds backlit by moonlight, high noon shadows. Painting from life gives us the opportunity to get closer to the truth-- about color, about light, and about the beauty or meaning we find in the subject before us. As an outdoor enthusiast, conservationist, and lover of old things, I value plein air painting as an opportunity to document a place in time, on canvas, immersed in the weather, the season, the uniqueness, and the living history of each location. I also paint from photographs, but I rely greatly on my plein air experience to infuse my studio paintings with light, life, and confident brush work. Painting from life remains my greatest teacher, and it’s at the heart of my approach to teaching. "
About artistic influences:
"My main artistic influences are the French Impressionists and Post-Impressionists and the Russian Impressionists. The French make me see light. The Russians make me see paint. I enjoy a spectrum across Realism to Impressionism, and I dabble in the Abstract. I enjoy all these approaches to painting, both as a process and as an end product. I enjoy painting a wide variety of subjects and not adhering to any formulas, though certainly I have my preferences and habits at any given time. As far as formulas or rules, the rules are there for breaking, but it helps to know them well in order to break them well."
