About Me


It is impossible to think about Amanda Zito without thinking about Montana. Her body of work clearly reflects her rural upbringing and down-to-earth attitude by utilizing warm color palettes and natural elements reminiscent of her family's ranch. Her romantic-realist style is a result of a childhood surrounded by Bev Doolittle paintings. She uses that style to explore themes and feelings of nostalgia, western history, and relationships. Her work is digitally painted, highly rendered and detail oriented.


She moved to Portland, Oregon in 2010 to attend the Pacific Northwest College of Art where she earned a BFA in Illustration and is now serving an apprenticeship at Dark Star Tattoo. She spends her free time driving as far away from the city as humanly possible and pining for home.


Find me on instagram @blindthistle





A Few Accomplishments:


In 2011, she won the Resource for Conservation and Development's "Outstanding Youth Involvement" Award, for creating a video to try to help inform people about the use of RC&Ds and their funding. 
In 2010, she was awarded numerous scholarships, the most prominent being chosen by the Board of Directors at PNCA to receive the President's Scholarship worth $24,000. She completed a 8ftx8ft Mural in participation of the Montana Meth Project "Paint the State." She donated time to teach Freshmen Figure Drawing, and Photoshop to Journalism students. 
In 2009, she had work featured in a Breast Cancer Gala in Florida, to help raise money for Breast Cancer Research.
In 2008, 2009, and 2010 she was published in Montana Signatures Magazine. 
Between 2007-2010 she won the Annual S.A.F.E. poster contest and published in their annual calendar. 


 A Note from Amanda about her Background:
As the youngest of six children, I was often overshadowed by my brothers and their bad behavior which took up most of my parents' attention. My brother's bad examples led me to understand that if I wanted any kind of fleeting attention I needed to excel in everything I did. 
On top of that primary influence, I grew up in Western Montana in a ranching family, which meant everyone worked even the youngsters. This positive work ethic forced me to work hard and learn discipline at an early age which allowed me to learn concepts and ideas quickly. 
Gary, the only brother who payed attention to me -that I can remember- inspired me from a very young age to be creative. Through my brother's mentoring, I soon learned all the basic techniques of drawing and developed a deep infatuation with creating art. 

I've never been a big fan of alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. I have a deep infatuation with unfiltered reality, along with my liver, lungs, kidneys and other organs. I like getting the natural High from Life....  riding horses... motorcycles.... and creating art. 


Articles and Features


Guest Comic on WithFetus.com " July 18, 2012"

 Articles about receiving the "Outstanding Youth Involvement" Award:
 Missoulian: "Recognition"
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