About mandy stobo's Shop
calgary, alberta
I am a visual artist and a mom.
MANDY STOBO
Mandy Stobo is a passionate artist, actor and mother. She is dedicated to her community, her family and her artwork while always taking in as many new perspectives, experiences and memories that life can offer.
With a practice honoring the traditional use of figure ground relationship and formalistic approaches to creating solid, successful compositions, her contemporary work merges together a use of text, chalk and highly saturated hues of paint. For Mandy, the process of creating is just as important as the finished product. Her mark making is not left to chance, but rather follows formal elements of design and aspects of composition.
Mandy’s use of vibrant colours and emotions in her paintings are a direct reflection of her outlook on life. Her vibrant personality is only matched by her vibrant passion for her hometown of Calgary, Alberta. She is a champion for the city and it’s artistic and cultural endeavors. Mandy finds herself involved in various projects from illustrating the children’s book “C is for Calgary” and others, to designing branding for various businesses, to working in film and television such as The Valley Below, Haunting Melissa, Heartland, Angel’s Crest, Young Drunk Punk and more.
It was Mandy’s love for her city that initially sparked the Bad Portrait Project. It started as a humble way for Mandy to celebrate Calgary and its inhabitants through expressive pop-art inspired watercolour and sharpie portraits. However, the project skyrocketed online and past Calgary’s city limits with the help of social media. These terribly Bad portraits are now seen internationally and are featured in The City of Calgary Public Arts Program, on two Calgary C-Trains, branding for companies and personalities such as Jann Arden, Bob Rock, The Lonely Island, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Much Music, Village Brewery, Calgary Herald, and were just included as gifts for the Juno Award winners. The project has revolutionized the accessibility of art and connects the viewer directly with the artist.
Mandy’s holds a deep connection with music, theatre and film, as she loves to challenging herself through live performance painting which has allowed her to work alongside artists such as Michael Bernard Fitzgerald, Library Voices, Raleigh, The Dudes, Jann Arden and can be seen live projection illustrating Dave Kelly Live on stage. She is heavily involved in many charities and fundraisers, and is a big advocate for mental health. Her contemporary work has been collected all over the world and is currently working on her new body of work, “POW!” for shows across Canada.
Stobo dreams of providing a solid world for her son’s through her art, and will never stop the search for great color, joy, and moving art.
