Let’s dream together

“The beginning is always today.” - Mary Shelley

Hello,

First, I want to welcome you to my website and thank you for visiting. This website is a collection of my recent illustration work and various portfolio selections. I currently work as an illustrator who specializes in illustration-driven branding. My work is focused on psychology-informed color selection. If you’d like to send me a message about a project, I can be reached at amotrenec@gmail.com.

My art is aimed at healing through color-inducing optimism.

I will now give you a little history of me. I began my journey into art before I could walk. Drawing and painting were my main outlets and everything else made me curious. I was always daydreaming, reading, or trying to learn something new. Have you ever met an artist who wasn’t curious or daydreaming? I love metaphysics, Victorian literature, color, creative writing, animals, botany, rocks, and imagining. My favorite novel is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

My portfolio has been evolving for years. After high school, I went to a private art institute and then worked as a graphic designer for 10 years. I decided in 2012 to go back to school and study English for my masters degree. It was a difficult choice. Education and career decisions have always been difficult for me. It wasn’t until I returned to focusing on developing my portfolio that I realized a common theme in all of my work is my color palette. I was struggling for a long time to define my “style.” Something most artists arrive at, rather than create.

It came to me one day: that I’m obsessed with color. No matter what the subject of my artwork, I strive for vibrant, optimistic, evocative, emotion-inducing colors. My art is inspired by the literature I have read and the universe around me. Below you can view my CV, or what I like to believe is my literary journey. I also love Gothic literature from the pre-Victorian and Victorian era, literary theory, and metaphysical detective fiction. I’m involved in active sports, vegetarian topics, and healthy living.

I pin a lot of this on my Pinterest account. You can follow me here. I’m a very open person and love connecting with like-minded people. If you are interested in my artwork, you can dream with me in color on Instagram.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Certificate in Branding Strategy, HOW Design University, 2019

Certificate in Children’s Book Illustration, Expected August 2019

Master of Arts in English, August 2015

Bachelor of Arts in English, August 2012

Certificate in Teaching Composition, August 2015

Associate of Arts in Graphic Design, Golden West College, May 2009

Certificate of Specialization in Digital Arts, May 2009

MA Project

“Suspecting Women in The Leavenworth Case”

My project contemplates the empowerment of the deviant female character in The Leavenworth Case, a 19th century detective fiction novel written by Anna Katherine Green. It focuses on the position of the suspected murderesses of patricide at a critical juncture in history for the suffrage movement, and the ability detective fiction had to present new and controversial images of women.

Art Shows & Features

• AquaFest. Water media showcase. 2018. Click here to view.

• Featured Artist. Formothernature.com. 2018.

• RAW artists show. Santa Ana, 2017.

• Art display. Art Institute of Orange County. 2007.