When Amanda Freund ’97 arrived at LAS, she spent four years immersed in the beauty of the Swiss Alps—years that shaped not only her creativity but also her values. She embraced the LAS ethos of leaving every place better than she found it, a principle that continues to guide her life and work today. Now based just outside Chicago, Amanda is an accomplished painter known for her bright, joy-filled canvases and her generous creative spirit. For her, painting is both a practice and a purpose. “There’s a lot of darkness and fear in the world,” she says. “Making art is how I add light.”

Her time at LAS laid the foundation for both her creative growth and personal development. She fully embraced life on the Magic Mountain—serving as Student Council President, singing in the LAS Choir, and studying IB Art under the guidance of Mrs. Lund, which helped shape her path as a professional artist. Her wide-ranging talents were recognized when she received the Drama Award, a testament to her boundless energy and passion for the arts. “A lot of high schools offer solid art instruction, but very few give you the kind of cultural exposure we had at LAS. It wasn’t until I was in art school in my 20s that I realized how many masterpieces and monuments I’d already seen, without even knowing how lucky I was. I wish I could go back and tell my teenage self, ‘Hey—pay attention! This is incredible stuff.’”

Amanda’s journey to becoming a full-time artist wasn’t a straight line. Before her painting became a successful business, she held a colorful array of jobs—cleaner, taxidermy assistant, presidential campaign intern, bar mitzvah centerpiece designer—each one adding to her rich tapestry of experiences. She also spent years in the nonprofit world as a paralegal and pro bono coordinator. But it was painting that ultimately became her calling and career.

Amanda’s art is deeply rooted in purpose and generosity. Whether she’s guiding students through creative classes, creating commissioned artworks, or painting alongside her three daughters, Amanda approaches art as a way to share joy and meaning with others.

One of Amanda’s most beloved and enduring projects is Angels Among Us—an annual series of small angel paintings created to honor kindness, hope, and everyday heroism. Now in its sixth year, the collection has become a global tradition, with thousands of Amanda’s angels gracing homes around the world. Born from a desire to celebrate loved ones and lift the spirits of those in need, Angels Among Us invites patrons and followers to submit the names of real-life angels—ordinary people who’ve shown extraordinary generosity in difficult times. Each painting becomes a tribute, a gesture of gratitude rendered in color and light. After years of selling out the original canvases, Amanda expanded the reach of the project with a free online course, Heavenly Hosts, empowering others to paint their own angels, share them as gifts, sell them to support their own creative journeys, or leave them anonymously in places where angels are needed most. What began as a personal act of fun and creativity has grown into a worldwide ripple of art, compassion, and generosity.

Amanda’s work reminds us that art is about more than aesthetics—it’s about storytelling, healing, and the shared human experience. Her belief in the transformative power of creativity is at the heart of everything she does. As she puts it, “We’re all born to make art. I’m just lucky enough to get to do it for a living.”

 

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Photos from Amanda's time at LAS