Interview with: Judith and Amanda Dunbar

The apple doesn't falls far from the tree... In this interview, Planoprofile meets up with Aspen art Gallery Artists Judith (the mom) and Amanda (the daughter) Dunbar... Two outstanding painters, working together in their family studio!

Judith Dunbar and her DAUGHTER, AMANDA

"Today, Amanda and Judith, mother and daughter, are successful artists, each in their own right and in their own opposite markets."

“Our situation happened so organically that I don’t think you could repeat it if you tried.” Judith Dunbar

"With two highly proficient artists in the room, I got whiplash trying to keep up." Journalist

So who started painting first?

Judith: I haven’t been doing it all that long. I was following her (Amanda)… When Amanda’s career took off, I became more exposed to what she was doing and I found my own little niche and that was that. Our galleries are different, our markets are different, so we don’t cross paths too much....There’s always been creativity in our home. We’re all creative in one way or another. My husband is an engineer; I’m a nurse. We’ve always had these other sides to us and our daughters grew up with creativity around. It wasn’t a foreign thing for Amanda to pick up painting … she’s inspired me to stick it on a canvas.

A: There’s always a project going on.

J: This week it’s over the top cookies in the kitchen.

How would you describe your style?

A: Eclectic but very strongly based in traditional representational aesthetic … A lot of them are a compilation of things I’ve seen and sketched or imagined. Combining ideas in one picture.

J: Mine are more specific. For example, I’ve got like 18 paintings that are down at the Omni hotel in the hospitality suites. For them, I was given a specific guideline of what to work with, types and color schemes. Mine goes into more contemporary galleries. Hers are in more representational, more traditional galleries.

What about your methods? Are they at all similar?

A: Not even remotely.

J: Sometimes the colors are similar.

A: I don’t even know what you’re talking about.

J: I steal off your palette sometimes.

Have you seen the art scene in Collin County grow since you started?

J: In the community in Allen in particular, there are lots of people that are really interested in it and a lot of wonderful artists. It’s a small community so we’re still working at it. One of the reasons they’ve asked Amanda to come this year is to bring people in. But they know Amanda and they’ve followed her career and Amanda is really good at talking to teenagers and kids her age, so it builds excitement and a local knowledge base. There was nothing when she started but now there is. There’s a nice little community pulling for her.

When they are not painting, Judith is a registered nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit and Amanda is pursuing a master’s and Ph.D. in Art History. Their works show in galleries nationwide.