The Surreal Pool Art OF ANIA AMADOR

BY JOE TRUSTY

These days, artists find inspiration working in a variety of different mediums. Take a stroll around town and you’re liable to stumble across art in the strangest of places. Case in point, the subject of today’s discussion. Ania Amador is an artist who has rapidly been building a following and has gone viral with her surrealistic swimming pool murals.

To appreciate her art does involve stepping out of your comfort zone. No, you won’t need a ticket to a gallery or museum. To view this art up close and personal, you’ll have to strap on your bathing suit or put on a pair of swim trunks.

A trained commercial artist, Amador gave us some insight as to how she first got started painting swimming pools.

“I’ve been doing this for about ten years - full time, but I’ve always been creative and liked painting. When it comes to my mural work, it’s really great to be able to diversify and paint in private homes,” explained Amador, “Pools seem to be pretty popular these days, and I’ve had a lot of fun the two times I’ve had the chance to paint a pool.”

What drew our eye to Amador’s work, is not only the vivid and surrealistic imagery she incorporates into her murals, but also her preferred canvas. A swimming pool seems to be the most unlikely place you’d find a detailed mural depicting an astronaut lost in space. However, it’s exactly that decision to apply this painting technique inside the pool that is turning heads.

“That was my first time ever painting on the ground or in an immersive surface like that, where it’s actually around you and trying to think about all the different angles and how most people would be experiencing the painting,” said Amador.

“There were a lot of unknowns with the space pool specifically, and I just went for it. I thought the astronaut would be a really good way to achieve a good perspective from either side of the pool, and that was the focal point,” explained Amador, “Then I was able to add a vortex and galaxy. The client had a couple of other specifics they also wanted to be thrown in there, but that’s usually how these concepts unfold. I meet with my clients, see what their overall vision is, and then I come up with my own spin on what that is.”

The project took Amador a while to complete and was well documented on social media while she was painting it, as are many of her other projects. In the course of painting the pool, she began to attract more and more followers. Consequently, she slowly began thinking of her next pool painting which would feature a surreal seascape theme.

“It’s funny because some of my most viral projects have been a swimming pool and then another huge ocean scene I did. I knew that this one was going to be a hit,” said Amador.

Her latest creation which depicts an underwater scene was documented in a time-lapse video of her painting the entire swimming pool over the course of ten days. As with the first, her second pool painting generated millions of views and shares.

Ania acknowledged that this type of artwork is temporary and degrades over time and her client who commissioned the work knew this as well. Due to the technique used and the harsh environment a swimming pool presents, the pool will need to be repainted eventually. The average lifespan of the paint her clients chose is only 3 to 5 years, according to Amador.

Not all art is made to be permanent. Ephemeral art is to be appreciated in the here and now. Although these murals are temporary, it’s easy to appreciate the beauty in Amador’s work.

When she’s not painting her latest pool masterpiece, you can find this professional artist painting at rock concerts in front of a live audience, working on a new commission, or teaching a workshop.