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Amanda Caires is a Bay Area based artist from Maui, Hawai’i. She focuses on working with recycled materials to depict underrepresented communities, beautiful locations, and simple elements of everyday life. Amanda developed her love of drawing and painting landscapes from the mountains of Upcountry Maui and developed her drawing and painting skills while depicting her interpretation of the natural world and civilization have coexisted with the presence of the human race, and the various cultural and agricultural preservation practices she observed in the islands. During her education in San Francisco she has crafted and refined a style of oil pastels on cardboard, while experimenting in the world of digital art and our rapidly-growing familiarity with technology and social media. Amanda is motivated by political and geographical events that move communities near and far in order to continue those conversations and recognize underserved communities.

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"As someone who was born into a generation with an understanding of the effects of climate change, I often think about the effect of displaying art on a material that has been ripped up and thrown out. What fascinates me about the world now is that we are more conscious of the damage we are doing to our planet, and yet producing more waste than ever before. Why focus so intensely on working with a material that is literally designed to decompose, and create something traditionally meant to stand the test of time? Because the planet we live on is naturally built to stand that test, yet we treat it like it’s cardboard. Not only the earth itself, but the cultures, communities, ecosystem existing and growing rapidly on it, which are the main subjects I choose to depict. I gather much of my inspiration from the environment and cultures around the world."
 

Making beauty out of the worlds trash makes me feel like l am doing my part in re-beautifying our planet. If you have a specific project you would like to propose, please do not hesitate to contact me.