Amy Lay

Vibrancy, a sense of looseness and a comfortable nontraditional style are all ways, in which Amy's paintings have been described.

Residing in and drawing inspiration from mountain hideaways in Wyoming and the Wallowa Mountains of Northeastern Oregon, Amy Lay fosters an intimate love and fascination with the animals, wildlife and ecology surrounding her. Primarily self-taught but grateful for her Art Degree from Eastern Oregon University, Amy's career has evolved from childhood dream to strong reality. 

She renders her creations primarily with oil pigment and the organic and confident presence of graphite and charcoal. A bold use of color, powerful yet simple design and an ephemeral quality in her use of medium influenced by years of painting strictly in watercolor has given Amy's work a highly recognizable and unique signature quality. A unique distinction in the genre as well, is her limited use of reference, relying on memory and creative gesture in her subjects gives her animals a very distinct non-photographic brand. Her work dances across the often thick line between realism and abstraction, traditional and contemporary and because of this, appeals to a very broad clientele and appeals to both the established "old guard" of wildlife art, and the growing contemporary genre.