Artist Amanda Dominguez grew up in Friendswood and took art classes for over 12 years. Now in College Station, she uses her talents to do portraits of nurses across the nation, showing their emotions of working during the pandemic in their eyes.
By Karolyn Gephart
A lifetime of art is helping a Friendswood artist provide color and attention to nurses and other medical workers.
Amanda Dominguez, formerly Amanda Lynne Evert grew up in Friendswood and graduated in 2003 from Friendswood High School. Her parents are Mark and Martha Evert. They enrolled her in art classes with Betsy Miller when she was six years old.
“I am a former student of Betsy Miller and took from her for 12 years. I was put in art classes because I was getting into trouble at school for not finishing my work and drawing too much,” Dominguez said.
Currently, she lives in College Station with her husband, Dr. Brandon Dominguez, DVM and their three children. Nursing was her chosen profession and she worked as a Wound Ostomy Nurse.
Due to the pandemic, she is currently unemployed and unable to pick up hours at hospitals due to the COVID-19 virus. Homeschooling her three children was keeping her busy but she wanted to do more.
“I was feeling helpless that I couldn’t find a job due to the pandemic and I couldn’t help my friends who were calling for help and telling me horrific stories about what the environment was like in the hospital,” she said. “With managing a full household, I had little time for myself and again kept feeling hopeless. Another artist, Kristi Nelson encouraged me to start drawing.”
She sat down and started drawing as a way to help fellow nurses.
“I wanted to give them a voice during this time and give color to the journey that they were on. I wanted to paint their portraits because the mask hides half their face; you can’t see their joy, their sorrow, or their anxiety,” Dominguez said. “I wanted to capture their story in their eyes.”
The response has been overwhelmingly positive, she reports.
She works in pastels and oils and completes three to four portraits a day.
“Pictures of nurses are coming from all over the nation. I am doing all of these for free. I hope to show them in a gallery to celebrate the heroes who are risking their own safety to care for the sick during this time and share their stories,” Dominguez said.
She also teaches children’s pastel classes and competes and shows her art as much as possible.
Each year she returns to Friendswood to participate in the Chalk Walk and help raise funds for public art.
“When normal comes back, I am hoping to find a job but if that takes some time… I will be enjoying the summer off with my kids and spending more time on my art,” Dominguez said.
Her art can be seen at www.amandalynneart.com
