Therese Amundson grew up in the Midwest where she
attended a Catholic school as a young girl that, to her
dismay, did not offer a significant art program. This did not
deter Therese, however, as she was determined to hone
her artistic skills, not only for her own pleasure and
satisfaction, but also because her big sister’s artistic
abilities inspired her to foster and grow her own. She
would spend hours drawing anything that caught her eye
or piqued her curiosity in the moment. She eventually
started exploring other creative outlets and found a deep
love and talent for calligraphy. Therese began combining
her drawing and calligraphy together and joyfully created
personalized works of art to share with her friends and
family.
Years later, working in her mother’s print shop as the head
press operator, Therese was given the opportunity to not
only create unique works of art on her own, but also to
print multiple copies of the cards, invitations, name cards
and memorials that she personally designed. Her artistic
flare also meant that she was entrusted with designing
posters and blackboard signs for the print shop that
delighted the customers as they walked in.
With marriage and motherhood, Therese built a full and
beautiful life between work and caring for her family. She
found little ways to express her creative side, but always
believed there was more inside her that was waiting to
bubble forth and spill over.
It wasn’t until she and her husband decided to partially
retire and buy a second home in Arizona that she started
thinking about where she would like to focus her time and
attention in this new stage of life. Therese was drawn to
art exhibits near her new home where she gazed in
appreciation and delight at the incredible works of art
around her and she began to wonder if she too could
create art that brought her joy.
Therese promptly enrolled in her first painting class and
fell madly in love with oil painting. It has been a love affair
ever since. She worked with some talented teachers at the
Scottsdale Artist School which led her to her current
instructor, Jay Moore. She enrolled in his mentorship
program in Colorado and has studied, explored and grown
exponentially. The number one lesson she has learned
about sharing her artistic vision and developing her own
style is to paint, paint, paint.