Amy Collins:
Age: 57
Residence: Birmingham; lived in Homewood for 22 years.
Occupation: Medical illustrator and fine artist
Hometown: Savannah, Ga.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in studio arts from the University of Georgia; master’s degree in medical illustration from Medical College of Georgia
Latest accomplishment: “I just made a poster for my dad’s 90th birthday. I guess that’s as important as anything I’ve done lately.”
Sam Collins:
Age: 60
Residence: Birmingham; lived in Homewood for 22 years.
Occupation: Medical illustrator and fine artist
Hometown: Cincinnati
Education: Bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Cincinnati; bachelor’s degree in drawing and painting from the University of Cincinnati; master’s degree in medical illustration from Medical College of Georgia
Latest accomplishment: “Amy and I illustrated a book on breast cancer for the American Cancer Society.”
Drawn Together:
Couple Shares Love of Art—and the Same Careers
By Keysha Drexel
Journal editor
Amy and Sam Collins both have forward-thinking teachers to thank for their long careers in the arts–and for their marriage.
The couple, who are members of the Mountain Brook Art Association and live in Birmingham, just outside of Crestline, said they both were encouraged to pursue careers that combine their love of art and their scientific curiosity.
And if they hadn’t both listened to their teachers about investigating careers as medical illustrators, the pair might never have met.
Amy grew up in Savannah, Ga. After earning a bachelor’s degree in studio arts from the University of Virginia, she furthered her studies in the master’s program for medical illustration at Medical College of Georgia.
That’s where she met Sam, who was also working on his master’s degree in medical illustration after having earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and drawing/painting from the University of Cincinnati in his hometown.
The couple will celebrate their 32nd wedding anniversary in October and are the parents of 26-year-old Matthew and 23-year-old Sara. Matthew is a graduate student at Samford University, and Sara, a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a junior creative specialist at BBDO, an ad agency in Atlanta.
Both Amy and Sam were creative children who could often be found with sketchpads or behind easels.
“I have always loved to draw–or really, any creative process that involved making something with my hands fascinated me,” Amy said.
Sam, too, said he can’t remember a time when he didn’t like to draw. He started out drawing cartoons and superheroes as a kid, he said.
“Then I did sports paintings and mixed media in high school,” he said.
And while both Amy and Sam loved artistic pursuits as children and teenagers, they also shared a curiosity about science and the nature of things.
Luckily, the couple both had biology teachers who knew about the medical illustration field.
“I have to give credit to my parents and my high school art teacher for encouraging me to pursue art, and I was very fortunate to have a wonderful AP Biology teacher who suggested medical illustration as a possible career path,” Amy said.
Sam learned about the medical illustration field from his college professors at the University of Cincinnati.
“Studying biology, I often did drawings for my papers,” Sam said. “Several professors suggested a career in scientific illustration.”
But like Amy, he did not let his interest in the arts fall by the wayside while he pursued a career in medical illustration.
Amy said she took the science classes she would need to apply for graduate school in medical illustration at the same time she was doing her undergraduate coursework in studio art.
Sam continued his artistic studies by earning a bachelor of fine arts degree before going on to study medical illustrations in graduate school.
The couple continues to balance their medical illustration careers with their love of all types of art.
“Sam and I have recently moved into our new studios at Artists on the Bluff (in Hoover), and we’re excited about to be a part of this community of artists,” Amy said. “It’s a unique place in Birmingham with studios for working artists to create, show and teach.”
In addition to the move to the new studio in July, they also have been busy preparing for the annual Bluff Park Art Show in October and the Mountain Brook Art Association’s annual holiday show in December.
“And in November, I will be one of the featured artists at Artists Incorporated Gallery,” Amy said.
Amy said finding inspiration for her art work is pretty easy.
“For me, inspiration can come from almost anything. It can be something tangible, like a person or animal or outdoor scene,” she said. “But I can also be inspired by a song or color or a feeling, and it takes my painting in another direction.”
Amy said she is also inspired by other artists in the Over the Mountain area.
“I’m also inspired by other artists, particularly painters, and love to look at their work,” she said. “I’m lucky because I’m part of a weekly painting group led by Barbara Evans, and it always inspires and re-energizes me.”
Sam said he is most often inspired by American culture and American icons.
“I’m influenced by many types of art, especially pop art and photorealism and artists like Tom Wesselman, Mel Ramos, Robert Rauschenberg, as well as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichenstein and Doug Bloodworth,” he said.
Sam said he liked to “create images that tell a story or have a story about them.”
“That’s probably why I became an illustrator,” he said.
Sam said he enjoys working in mixed-media the most.
“I don’t think a finished piece of art has to be only one thing,” he said. “I like to combine drawing, painting, digital images and found objects in creating my collage constructions.”
Amy and Sam both said they think a strong arts community is important not just for artists but also because it benefits everyone.
“A strong arts community is integral to a vibrant and active society and a strong community,” Sam said. “People choose to live in communities that offer more than nice houses.”
Music, dance, theater and visual arts all contribute to the quality of life in any community, Sam said.
“A strong visual arts community is crucial to producing citizens that are creative and engaged with skills that benefit the entire community,” he said.
Amy said she, too, believes that art is important for many reasons, and not just because it inspires people to “think out of the box.”
“A community that supports the arts is one that encourages and benefits from this kind of forward thinking,” she said. “The arts can bring a community together across cultural and economic barriers and, as a result, have a positive impact on its growth and success.”
