About — Amy Montague Friend - Visual Verse Press

I am a photographer, painter and designer with a passion for our profound natural world. I seek to share my vision of this majestic world and often translate my work impressionistically and abstractly. This vision also includes my depiction of man's impact and interface with the natural environment, often photographed out of context. Yet blooms remain my greatest muse and the majority of my images reflect my celebration of their intricate and abstract beauty in all stages of the life cycle.

My photographs inform me, and I also express many of my floral images through painting and charcoal.

Finally, I have discovered the profound healing capacity of visual images and my photographs can be used in any medical or health oriented setting (as well as for fundraising purposes, often for environmental and health-related causes). My work has been utilized in both hospital and medical office settings and I am also available to help design any space to create a more healing and calming experience. If you are interested in using any of my images for your healthcare facility, healing space, home or if you are interested in using my note cards (in bulk) for your particular fundraising effort, please feel free to email or contact me for information at (781) 598-1218.

View Online Gallery of Institute of Urology Exhibit at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center July 2013 - January 2014

View Additional Photo Galleries

About Visual Verse Press - I have long visualized many of my photography and painting designs (particularly blooms and abstractions) as functional art for regular enjoyment. Many of those ideas have now become a reality! Greeting cards, note cards, accessory bags, shirts, tote bags, table tiles, calendars, candles, pillows, lamps, affirmation cards and more can be ordered ... either as already created or by custom-ordering using any image on the site. And, of course, all images are available as prints in the following sizes: 5 x 7, 11 x 14 and 16 x 20. Framing is also an option upon request. Gift packaging is included for greeting and note cards. Please feel free to contact me for ordering...

Artist Statement

“To see a world in a grain of sand and heaven in a wild flower … Hold infinity in the palm of your hand and eternity in an hour.” William Blake

My work is my meditation. It is compelled by my joy of nature and my fascination with line and shape. I seek to find conceptual pattern in all things occurring naturally and utilize photography to bring these forms and variations of color to light. My ultimate goal is to discern and interpret the lines and color occurring naturally within nature’s own palette. I am particularly drawn to flowers in still life through all phases of the life cycle. From the unfolding of petals to the dark of crumbling leaves, I strive to express these changes through my work in an effort to better understand the blossom’s structure and the source of its beauty. As an avid creator of still life, I also work to arrange blossoms in visual symmetry. I seek interesting container shapes, visual connections and alternative angles, always working to visually catch natural light. I use natural light and low resolution ... oftentimes creating an “Impressionistic” quality to the photograph in an effort to create my vision of the bloom as well its parts not commonly noticed.

My goal is to break down the view of the whole to reveal the parts of any subject that creates intricate line, form, and stirring softness ... often as an abstract painter's hand might use color, texture and line to weave paint in symmetry on a canvas. My observation also extends to moving tides and the multitude of design left behind each ocean surge. Through my study of nature's shadows, reflections and light juxtaposed against man's lines and form, I also seek patterns and shapes in unusual places that are not seen by most. In the end, I am drawn to patterns that relate to those first created by nature's most profound paintbrush.