Amy Long

An artist delves into existence

By SANDY LONG

CANADENSIS, PA — “Animals teach us so much,” says artist Amy Long. “They challenge us to think outside the box of human experience. And that’s a place I’m always eager to explore.”

Long has traversed this artistic terrain for years, and likes painting images of animals and the natural world because she feels particularly connected to these aspects of reality. She selects her subject matter based on its ability to deepen her life experience. “It has to provoke within me a desire for understanding that energy and intelligence that guides you and makes you aware of itself.”

Long likes to describe herself as a teabag steeping in the liquid that is her life. “I consider myself an observant interpreter. It’s as if the fluid enters and infuses the herbs with life,” she explains. “When I paint, the energy of wild creation is working through me. I become the portal through which it can express itself. I get sucked into the beauty of the subject I’m painting and come to a new understanding through this process. I get to know it on a deeper level.”

Long also values the opportunity to explore the role of light and its opposites in her work. “Light is everything. But you can’t understand light without darkness or shadow. Painting is about understanding form. And to understand form you need light and shadow.”

Such dualities intrigue the fiery artist. “Happiness and sadness, form and shadow, the physical and the philosophical—I’m attracted to those differences,” she adds.

The inventive artist also enjoys experimentation, and asserts that anything goes when it comes to what she’ll consider painting on. Canvas, wood, marble tiles, refurbished farmhouse windows, ostrich eggs and even chicken eggs have received Long’s paintings. She keeps watch at auctions, yard sales and home improvement stores for potential items on which to paint.

Such materials enhance her creative experience and contribute to her exploration of a subject. But Long is also drawn to her subject matter for other reasons. “What inspires me to understand the artistic process is the reality of other beings, in particular, animals, which have a way of tying into me emotionally,” she said. “They are honest and pure. That’s extremely healthy. Animals have given me life.”

Ironically, it was an animal that almost took Long’s life in 2005, when she was thrown from a horse. Long hit a nearby building head first, which fractured her skull and neck. She was life-flighted to a trauma center, where she eventually overcame a coma, a tracheotomy, tube-feeding and machine breathing as she learned to walk, play her guitar and paint again.

Long harbors no ill will toward the paint horse, Rembrandt, who, she says, simply didn’t want her on his back. As is often the case when someone survives great trauma, important insights can result. “Rembrandt woke me up with a good whack on the head,” says Long. “I’ve discovered how deeply everything is interconnected, like one huge web that intertwines.”

Ultimately, Long sees art as an opportunity to examine and deepen our understanding of life. “Art is a delving into existence,” she notes. “As an artist, I’m just the physical channel that brings that intelligence into being.”

Long’s painting, “When Winter Moves on Hooves” depicts a herd of wild horses charging through a snow-filled forest. “I love the intense beauty of the winter season, and the spirit of the holidays that infuses it,” she says. “I really value the special place that animals hold in our lives. We owe it to them to celebrate all they do for us and to provide the best life experiences that we can for them.”

For this reason, Long chose the Dessin Animal Shelter as the local charitable organization that will receive bidding proceeds. In addition to serving the greater Honesdale region for 39 years, earlier this year the shelter began working to establish a network of resources for rescuing large animals, such as horses, cows, sheep and pigs. Visit dessinshelter.com for more information.

Long recently began developing a website, artinemotion.com, where more of her work can be seen.

To bid on "When Winter Moves on Hooves," visit Narrowsburg Roasters on Main Street in Narrowsburg, NY, or call Narrowsburg Roasters at 845/252-7376. For more details on the Inspirations of the Season exhibit and silent auction of which this painting is a part, see riverreporter.com/issues/07-11-22/feature.html .