Noosa Heads artist Amanda Brooks counts her lucky stars every day. She has a new love in her life, a wonderful relationship with her three teenage children, her artwork is in high demand, and she gets to enjoy her mum’s delicious rock cakes six days a week.
“My painting studio is at my mum’s house in Tewantin,” Amanda explains. “She loves that because I’m an only child and her love language is food. So, when I go there, she just loves feeding me. I’ve always been close to my mum, but since setting up my studio there, we’ve formed a lovely bond.”
Amanda’s creative flair is evident everywhere at her charming Queenslander-style Noosa Heads home. She’s dressed in a pink jumpsuit (her favourite colour) and leads me through a pink door which opens onto a large courtyard overflowing with plants. Mid-sentence, she reaches over to touch a leaf, saying ‘Oh, I should paint that’.
Her home studio, which leads out to the wraparound verandah and garden, is crammed with large, colourful paintings, the big, bold brush strokes reflecting her love of nature, Australian landscapes, native birds and animals. She apologises for the “organised chaos”, explaining it is undergoing a revamp in preparation for the Noosa Open Studios Art Trail in October.
Amongst all the clutter is a sign propped up on a table – Amanda Brooks Artist – Breathing Colour to Life. It’s the perfect description of not only her paintings but her vibrant personality.
While Amanda is in a happy place now, she has also known great sadness. Her father passed away at the young age of 47, shortly after moving to Australia from Amanzimtoti in South Africa.
“I was only 19 when I lost my dad, which was very traumatic because I was so close to him. He was a dad, but he was also a friend. It was heartbreaking. We used to paint together. He painted portraits and was always doodling,” she tells salt.
Amanda was always destined to be an artist. “My parents were very sociable and were always entertaining. To keep me occupied they would give me crayons and paper and I would happily be lost in creating detailed drawings for hours. I would draw the dinner table with everyone sitting around it.”
When Amanda was in high school, she thought she may become an interior decorator, but when the family moved to Australia, she started experimenting with watercolours and took them to a framing gallery in Noosa Junction. “The owner started selling them – little Noosa watercolours – and they became very popular. She offered me a job working in the framing shop. Every time she sold a painting, I would use the money to frame the next one.”
Finding small watercolours limiting, Amanda started experimenting on large canvases with inks, acrylics, oil pastels and oil varnishes.
“I’m not fully into fine detail and using small brushes. I much prefer sweeping, big brush strokes and being free to move. I paint quickly, but that doesn’t mean a lot of feeling doesn’t go into it. Those who like my work love the freedom, the looseness and the flow,” she says.
Amanda’s large paintings were soon in demand and her career took off. In 2015, Huxter, an Australian bath and body care company, approached her to use some of her artwork on their products and she has been collaborating with them ever since.
Other companies took notice, including Phillip Bay Trading, another Australian company that is now her biggest collaborator, Canadian Art Prints and Paper Street. Soon, her artwork was on swimwear, coasters, placemats, tea towels, cushions, stationery and calendars.
Amanda also produces her own cushions, cards and calendars. Her 2025 calendar features 12 exquisite paintings that are worthy of framing.
Commissions also keep Amanda busy and her website has dozens of testimonials from satisfied clients. “Most days, a client will email me and say, ‘My painting has just arrived. I love it so much’. They share their emotions about how they feel, and I love hearing that. It’s very rewarding and fulfilling.”
Amanda says her favourite commissions are the sentimental ones. “They recreate a moment that will last a lifetime. Recently I did a commission for a family whose grandfather had passed away. The grandchildren threw rose petals on the beach for their grandfather, and I painted from the photo. The painting was called Goodbye Pop. They presented it to their grandmother and the whole family emailed to thank me.”
Other popular commissions include paintings of pets and landscapes. “It may be their property, a house or a holiday they’ve been on.”
Being a mum, painting six days a week, packaging artwork for dispatch throughout the world and doing her own marketing means Amanda has little time for herself, but she’s not complaining.
“If I’m not painting, I’m going for walks on the beach, gardening, doing home decorating and cooking, although I will feel more inspired to cook when I get a new kitchen. I also do Pilates daily, as it keeps me strong and flexible as a painter.”
As for the new love in her life, his name is Michael. They met at a Melbourne Cup lunch in Noosa in November 2024 and have been inseparable ever since.
“Meeting Amanda was like a bolt of lightning,” says Michael.
Perhaps the experience was like her artwork– it brightens your day and makes you smile.
Meet Amanda
You can meet Amanda Brooks and see her stunning work at this year’s Noosa Open Studios Art Trail, a free annual community event organised by local artists. This year, it will be held from October 10 to 18, providing art lovers with an opportunity to visit artists, learn about their creative processes and perhaps make an art investment. For details, see noosaopenstudios.com.au.