about Amy Healey

I think that when people get excited about a work of art, it is because they feel like they’ve found a window into a little world. I love making those little worlds.

I’m a Painter and Set Designer with a background in music and literature. I make little worlds in different forms: a still life with a collection of inanimate actors and locales; a portrait with clues to a background story-world; an imagined interior; a space and moment in time captured in a landscape; the physical world of a play for a theatrical set.

I’m originally from Ohio and I lived in Hawaii before moving to Maryland. I live near Annapolis, Maryland with my husband and our small daughter who is my least reliable model.

About Casein Paint

Casein (pronounced 'cay-seen) is an ancient medium made with milk protein. A form of casein paint was used in prehistoric cave paintings and in the frescos of the Egyptians and Romans. It was also very popular with muralists, illustrators and designers in the early 20th century, but fell out of favor with the advent of modern acrylics. Casein is a water-soluable medium (like watercolors and acrylics). Once completely dry it is highly stable and water resistant.  It’s still a popular medium for creating scenic drops for theatre because of its matte finish.

I enjoy painting in casein because I love its range of rich, subtle colors and its velvety finish. It is a versatile medium – when diluted with water it resembles watercolors, when varnished or buffed it can look much like oil. On the practical side, I also like that casein paint does not require the use of toxic solvents, cleans up easily and smells nice.