Self-taught artist dives into full-time fine arts career
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- “Waterfall” acrylic painting by Ogden artist Amy LeFevre.
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- “Marilyn” by artist Amy LeFevre.
Photo supplied
"Waterfall" acrylic painting by Ogden artist Amy LeFevre.
Fine artist Amy LeFevre started to believe in herself more over the past year and recently took the plunge into art as a career. The new full-time artist will be at Open Studio Night at The Monarch this Friday during the art stroll with original works on display.
Growing up in Clearfield and Ogden, LeFevre always loved to create and draw. Wanting a better financial life for their daughter than as a “starving artist,” her parents encouraged her to pursue other endeavors as possible career options, and a young LeFevre worked in the restaurant and bar industry for almost 10 years after a move to Florida.
“I was living a wild and crazy lifestyle and completely stopped creating,” she said. “I wanted to change my life, so I decided to move back to Utah and pursue a massage therapy career.” LeFevre worked in Deer Valley for many years, opening the Montage hotel in 2010, and later working for Stein Eriksen Lodge.
“All the while, I started dabbling with acrylics,” she said. “I loved it! I hoped maybe someday I would have the confidence to share my paintings.”
That confidence was slow to come. In 2014, LeFevre suffered a concussion that impacted her artwork. “I tried to paint a face and ‘Waterfall’ was the result,” she said. “I cried and cried because I didn’t know if I would ever be able to paint a face again.”
Photo supplied
"Marilyn" by artist Amy LeFevre.
The concussion ended up being a critical turning point. “It made me realize that I had talent as an artist and that I should practice to get better. My relationship with art changed at that point. I needed it,” she said.
LeFevre was, in fact, able to paint a face again and it came in the face of Marilyn Monroe. During the COVID-19 lockdown, she began taking steps to perfect her craft and even started showing her first 25 pieces to family and friends. She found a photographer and a printer and continued to move toward an art career.
“I started believing in myself as an artist that can make a living from art,” said LeFevre, a self-taught artist who did not attend any art schools. “I quit my massage job in September of 2021 and I’m all in. The more time that I spend painting, the happier I am.”
As for her presence at The Monarch, well, that was just pure fate. LeFevre said, “A couple of years ago, I had an interaction with a guest at my workplace about changing my career to become a full-time artist. She said that I was doing the world an injustice if I didn’t share my art, that artists are so important because they make people feel something when they look at the art.” When asked if she had heard of The Monarch in Ogden, LeFevre told her that she would look it up but was never in Ogden unless visiting relatives. Other acquaintances also mentioned The Monarch.
After several months of unsuccessful house hunting in Salt Lake, LeFevre ended up buying a house in Ogden, relocating from Park City, and finally went to The Monarch. “I was pretty excited that it was in my old favorite childhood Mexican restaurant building,” she said. “It had good vibes.”
In November, she became a creative member at The Monarch. “I still laugh that so many people told me that The Monarch is where I needed to be way before I realized it myself,” she said.
Visit LeFevre at The Monarch from 6-9 p.m. this Friday during Open Studio Night, where she will have original paintings for sale at half off of their regular prices. Follow her on social media @artfevre and at artfevre.com.