Amanda earned her undergraduate degree with a double major in art history and anthropology at the University of Nevada Reno. For a number of years, she taught freelance community art courses and worked as an art teacher at a private school before deciding to pursue a Masters in Secondary STEM Education to attain her public license for high school biology and art.

Along with furthering her education as a teacher, Amanda has devoted herself to her passion for illustration to advance reverence for the natural world and the protection of biodiversity. She is deeply interested in social messaging through her art, and how it can be used to leverage the power of communities toward grassroots activism.

Amanda mainly works in permanent drawing mediums such as pen, ink, acrylic, and watercolor. She also enjoys experimenting with small sculpture, photography, murals, and body art.

At the end of 2022 she completed her longest labor of love to date, The ABC’s of Xtinction, a series of pen and ink drawings exploring endangered species and environmental issues for every letter of the alphabet. She is currently seeking publication to turn it into an art book, with potential future interest in creating a traveling exhibition.

Her work concentrates on the intersection between the cultural, political, and spiritual concerns surrounding the natural world, in addition to exploring mythological and historical symbolism. She considers her art shaped by a miscellany of influences ranging from scientific illustration, the paintings of Renaissance, Flemish, and Pre-Raphaelite masters, to artists including Francis Bacon, H.R. Giger, Dave McKean, and many others.