Meet Amos Harvey

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amos Harvey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amos, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
A few habits that have helped me as an artist:

1- Focus on process rather than outcome in the early stages.

2- “The Production Mode” habit. Concentrated production across multiple pieces in a single time block. Using a preformed pattern set or color set on several pieces at once.

3- Structured Experimentation. While there is an overlap, it is often useful to separate the production cycle from an experimentation stage. In a dedicated experimentation session, I have found success in having some structured notes and goals for the session and recording patterns and techniques that worked, didn’t work, or need to be explored further.

4- When in doubt, hang it on the wall and live with it for a short time.
When the path forward is not clear on an advanced piece, hang it on the wall and let it exist in a common space for a while. Living with a piece and letting it process in the background can bring intuition into focus.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Like so many creatives, I work full time in a career that exists outside of art. I work in the bicycle industry for a large regional company based in Atlanta. I started at the most basic level as an assistant and worked my way through various roles, building skills along the way. I’ve had the privilege of learning the mechanical, sales, operations, and leadership roles in the business.

During my 16 years in the bicycle business, I have been lucky to develop myself in several disciplines of bicycle racing and have spent years training and competing on the bike.

Bicycles have served as a creative engine of growth for me in several ways. My pattern development skills and ability to produce large volumes of work have been hugely influenced by the time spent pedaling. All of those hours training and racing on the bike have given me a very specific perspective on hand movement, line patterns, and layering.

For me, bicycles and art have always been intertwined. I truly believe that bicycles can be transformational tools of growth for human beings and I have learned so much about discipline, movement, and patterns from the hundreds of hours pedaling a bicycle.

Growing a career in the bicycle industry, achieving results in bicycle racing, and producing art at volume has been a very challenging balance and I am grateful for the support and opportunities I’ve been given.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Day 1- Beltline Vibe Out. We start with a couple of bikes, ride through Piedmont park, its Meadow Path and onto the Beltline Eastside Trail. Roll through Atlanta on the Beltline and explore the city on bikes. Ladybird Grove & Mess Hall for lunch. Jump on the Freedom Park Trail and ride out to Little 5 Points and then back up towards Piedmont Park. Bantam + Biddy for dinner.

Day 2 – Atlanta Nature Day. Start at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. Walking through the whole place with a sketchbook. Draw some patterns and favorite plant shapes as we go. Off to Sweet Auburn BBQ for lunch and then we hit the GA Aquarium for the afternoon. It’s an obvious choice but even if you have been before, the Aquarium is amazing and playing tour guide to a friend is a great excuse to go back. Lyla Lila for dinner.

Day 3 – Mountain Bikes by the River. Park at Cochran Shoals Trail and ride mountain bikes along the river to the Soap Creek Mountain Bike Trails. Ride bikes all day and then back to the city for dinner at 8 Sushi.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Of the many that deserve credit in my story, two come to mind to highlight.

My brother, Sam Harvey has been a catalyzing force in my art production. Sam brings the perspective of a designer to art and has helped me simplify my visions and distill the complex patterns into more broadly accessible forms. Sam is currently doing incredible work in UX design for Google.

The Irish musician Dominick Martin has had a huge influence on my work for 2 decades. Dominick has pioneered and exemplified a certain style of electronic music that has been a throughline for my pattern development.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amos.harvey/

Other: amos.harvey@gmail.com