Amanda D'Agostino Art

06/26/2026

Getting to know yucca and milkweed a little better this morning in my front garden. Such lovely shapes. 🥰🌱

06/23/2026

06/20/2026

Guess who won an Honorable Mention for "Wash Day at Kutz Farm"? 🥰 I really was not expecting anything, so this was such a delightful surprise. Many thanks to the judge, , for this honor. I must have done something right! 😏

Plein Air West Reading is over for me, but the juried artists still have one more day - the street fair tomorrow! So if you're in town, check out all the beautiful new paintings that came into being this week.

Would I do this again? Yes. Despite the exhaustion and challenges and achy feet, I love every single painting I created and am so proud of myself for experiencing my first plein air event. I stuck to it and made it work, and I met several new people who I hope to see at future events.

Shout out to , , David Finnell, , .a.mengel_art , for being so kind and supportive to this first timer, and for all of your incredible work this week - brava to all!

And a special thank you to and all of your volunteers for a smooth and easy experience! Makes a difference when you've never done one of these before, so thank you for all of your hard work and helpfulness.

06/18/2026

Open Category artists are to submit two paintings for judging at Plein Air West Reading (juried artists can show many more), so these are the two I submitted. I love them both. I expect nothing, so I feel like I've succeeded simply by participating at full bore and going all in, and walking away with five new paintings that I'm proud of. An absolutely terrific first plein air event experience. In fact, after dropping these off to the venue today, I'm going out again even though the competition is over. And then again once more tomorrow. So I will have seven new paintings this week. Worth celebrating.

If any of my friends want to attend the Patron Preview tomorrow evening 6-8 in West Reading, just DM me, I have one ticket left.

Or, if you'd like to acquire one of these before the show tomorrow, just contact 🥰

Wash Day at Kutz Farm
12" x 12" x 2" oil on cradled birch
$350

Cut Your Own Flowers
12" x 12" x 2" oil on cradled birch
$350

06/17/2026

Only doing one painting today and this is it. When I get home, I'm going to gray down the red of the barn a little more - once I put everything away and took this photo I can see it's too bright and it needs to settle into the landscape more. 🤦🤷 But the rest of this one I like - worked slower this morning because I'm still pretty tired - this pace really taxes my creative energy. So, one today and I'll decide which two I'm submitting for judging this afternoon (out of five completed since Sunday), submit the label info, and then drop off at intake tomorrow.

Virginville View
12" x 12" x 2" oil on cradled wood

06/16/2026

Almost didn't take a photo of this second painting because I am beat! Two plein air paintings in one day (about 2.5-3 hours each, plus setup, takedown, cleanup, and driving home at the end of the day) is a lot. Thankful for a rejuvenating lunch !🥰 This kind of 6am - 5pm day requires stamina. I have enough for the day, but I'm pretty much ready to crash right now. 😏 However, I'm happy with what I created today and look forward to trying again tomorrow! It's a marathon, not a sprint. 😅😁

Fence Life
12" x 12" x 2" oil on cradled wood

06/16/2026

First plein air painting of the day! Having some lunch and a break and then I'm headed back out to find a second scene. Gorgeous weather today! 🥰✊

Wash Day at Kutz Farm
12" x 12" oil on cradled wood

06/16/2026

Just a little closeup detail of today's Quick Draw Plein air piece. I'm so happy with this one and every time I paint outside, I learn something, mostly about what I don't need to create a beautiful depiction of something.

When I started painting in 2019, I defined way too much, tried to be realistic, and spent entirely too much time worried about details. Since then, and especially since beginning more plein air, I have embraced the less-is-more mindset with my work - I strive to lay down the brush stroke and leave it. Be playful with tools and textures. Don't fuss and trust my instincts when it feels finished. Let go of precision to leave room for the viewer's interpretation - let them fill in the gaps. I've simplified my process while still hitting all the aspects of those opening moves that I love - initial sketch, toning, and block in. This has substantially influenced my studio practice as well, and I think is leading me to stronger paintings overall.

Plein air continues to teach me so much, and I'm thankful that my dad encouraged me to try it. He always said you learn more from nature and painting outside than anywhere else, and I feel that truth every time I paint en plein air. 🥰💜✊

Today's painting is available, but not yet on my web site. Just DM if interested.

06/15/2026

Not only did I finish, I finished early! So glad I chose a smaller panel so that I didn't feel rushed. In fact, when I decided I was done, I had to fight the urge to keep fiddling...or noodling as my dad would have called it. I stopped myself and signed it. Very happy with the finished painting and SO proud of myself for giving this a try! I survived my first Quick Draw! 😃😅✊

Rising Chorus
12" x 6" x 2" oil on cradled wood