Wherever it may hang, a piece of art by Mandy Stobo shifts the energy of the space to love. She moves through the world at a frequency that can only be described as sunlight. I have always said, “Mandy paints like a child who was never told no.” Despite tragedy and turmoil—from disease and abuse to beginning Bad Portraits, as a single mom, trying to survive—Mandy’s heart has remained open. Creativity oozes out of her pores and, with a brush in her hand, fear melts away. People are drawn to her light, of course, but also her courage to be messy and imperfect. Walking into her garage studio feels like coming home. It is as clear as her intentions, that Mandy is love and light parading around as a human for a while. Calgary is the luckiest to have her.
-Written by Kristin Hallet, author of Bee Love
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Which neighbourhood are you in?
I live in SoCal 😂 the fake lake of Auburn Bay baby- I grew up in the NW, then in Cochrane/Bearspaw and was a single mom inner city in Cambrian (yay Rosemont School!) but we discovered the land of the sea and the community is wonderful. We love to skate and paddleboard and my studio was built into the home so it’s perfect for us.
What do you do?
I’m a visual artist. I love to create with my hands and make all kinds of contemporary artwork. I have a watercolour painting project called Bad Portraits that has been around for over a decade and celebrates humans and how beautiful we are. I work in film and TV providing paintings and artwork for shows like HBO’s The Last of Us, Fargo and some secret projects in the works atm. I also love tech so I integrate VR, Augmented Reality and animation in as much as I can. I love creating so much and sadly don’t think I have any other skill set haha.
What are you currently working on?
I have my annual Stobos studio show & sale coming up, plus shows in NYC, Toronto, Sarasota Florida and LA. I’m also on 3 film projects and working on some illustrations for a couple of books. We are also bringing back a live stage show DKL where I create and animate love on stage during our variety show with Dave Kelly which has featured Jann Arden, Sean Jones, Jill Barber, Paul Brandt, etc in the past.
My newest work focuses on creating contemporary western-themed pieces that celebrate the landscape and storytelling around us. I love it so much.
Where can we find your work?
You can find my work on Instagram or through my website.
Always open for studio visits and commissions as well- mandystobo@gmail.com
