B i o g r a p h y
Born and raised in Upstate New York, I always had an interest in art as a child. I learned to sketch faces in a college art class, and loved to draw my nieces and nephews. I did not do much painting until I moved to Las Vegas in 2008 and became inspired by the scenery of the area and regional Southwest art that I found in different places. Red Rock Canyon and Valley of Fire were of particular interest to me: surrounded by rich color and ancient petroglyphs, I felt the peace of nature and thought about the expression of art even before humans had pencils. Road trips to National Parks including Arches National Park in Utah were of further inspiration. The colorful sunsets, canyons, and mountains of the West are beyond beautiful, and as my family relocated to a fresh new home with large white walls, I embraced the urge to fill those walls with what I find beautiful. Once I began doing this, the ideas got flowing, and I found myself painting all sorts of things! At the urging of friends and family, I began selling my work in spring 2013. Six months later, I was a full time artist.
Now that my home is full, I'd like to fill yours as well. Please take a look at my galleries on this site and let me know if there's anything you'd like me to paint for you. I truly enjoy painting, and I welcome whatever challenge you put before me. It is my dream to have my paintings all over the world! Some of my paintings are custom made when you order them, and others are available in my studio, or in galleries and other local businesses where I show my work. If you do not see a direct checkout option for the item you want, please contact me and I'll communicate with you via e-mail or phone for a personal experience. If for any reason you are unsatisfied, let me know and I can make it right.
As you'll see from looking through my portfolio, I work in many styles. Modern Impressionism is what I enjoy the most, and abstract art is also a great outlet for me. Realism is what I feel shows talent the most, but is an exercise in patience and not as creative. Every month I have a need to create in all three of these formats. If I had to choose one artist that has influenced me most, it would be Modern Impressionist Leonid Afremov.
I enjoy using an exaggerated perspective in many of my paintings, especially on cars and landscape scenes. I work with high quality paints and enjoy bright colors, but I also use a lot of black in my work. My signature background on Modern Impressionist pieces is to have darker edges and a spotlight effect in the center. I find that these techniques draw the eye into the painting.
Acrylics are my favorite medium, but I also work with spray paint, pen, and colored pencil. I do some tattoo design and have worked in airbrush as well. I enjoy trying something new whenever I find the time, and hope to always keep learning.
My portfolio will always be a work in progress. Check back for new things, and if you enjoy my work, please "like" my facebook page to get the word out to others. I would very much appreciate it! I do update this portfolio a few times a year, but I often make 15 paintings per month or so, and it is becoming hard to keep up! My Instagram (art_by_mandy_joy) and Facebook (Art By Mandy Joy) are the best ways to see what I am up to currently!
~Mandy Joy
Publishings, Milestones, Etc...
2014 was my first year as a full time artist. Over the course of the year, 20 of my pieces were featured in online galleries such as:
Best International Female Artists
Artists of Landscape
Free Arts
Artbound Community (featured in Sept 2014 newsletter)
Sharing The Arts
Fine Artist Gallery
Musica & Arte
Painting With Art
Many of these have a worldwide audience.
January 2015 - Award of Excellence - North Las Vegas Arts And Cultural Advisory Board.
February 2015 - Accepted by a Las Vegas Art Gallery: Jana's RedRoom. (See my drop down menu for more info!)
March 2015 - Two pieces chosen for a 3 month Exhibit at Bar + Bistro inside The Arts Factory, Downtown Las Vegas.
June 2015 - First gallery showing as featured artist at Jana's RedRoom Las Vegas: Dancer Series.
August 2015 - 4 pieces of my art were hung inside The Mirage Hotel/ Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
October 2015 - Second gallery showing as Featured Artist at Jana's RedRoom Las Vegas: Dia De Los Muertos Series.
November 2015 - Promoted to the Elite Artists Team for Jana's RedRoom.
November 2015 - Gallery Show as Featured Artist at Twisted Artist Gallery Las Vegas: Female Figure Series.
December 2015 - First Office Art Interior Design Job.
January 2016 - Invited and accepted to IN3 - International Initiatives Invitational - Worldwide Art Traveling Exhibit
Named as 2015's top selling Artist in Jana's RedRoom
February 2016 - Featured Artist for the Grand Opening of Wonderland Gallery Las Vegas: Love theme.
March 2016: Was interviewed and published for the website Arts, Artists, Artwork. See below.
May 2016 - Third Featured Show at Jana's RedRoom Las Vegas: Black & Blue series.
October 2016 - Fourth Featured show at Jana's RedRoom: Revenge of the Dead. Featured in DTLV magazine, Las Vegas Review Journal, and Vegas Seven Magazine. First Office Art Curation Job.
November 2016 - Opened a gallery with fellow artist Steve Anthony: Obsidian Fine Art inside The Arts Factory. Featured in Vegas Seven, Las Vegas Weekly, DTLV, The Indie Mag, Raw Femme's Femme Mob, Creative Artists Project, and RedRoom Live TV show!
Spring 2018 - Became a Licensed Artist. My work is really getting out into the world now on prints and products produced by other companies. Search for Art By Mandy Joy on Amazon! Hopefully coming to stores near you soon!!
August 2018 - My work is now showing and for sale inside the Erotic Heritage Museum in Las Vegas.
June 2019 - You can now find my work in Downtown Summerlin Las Vegas inside With Love & Co., a store filled with handcrafted goods by local artisans.
A
An Interview with Mandy Joy, Artist
feel free to contact us lee.down@gmail.com
Lee Down, March 11, 2016, Artists, Homepage featured posts, Artist, artwork, buy art, interview, Mandy Joy, original artwork, paintings for sale, sell art, 0
Arts, Artists, Artwork interviews artist Mandy Joy.
How did you get started with art?
Art was always a hobby I enjoyed and sometimes felt good at. I never assumed I could be successful in making it a career though. When my husband and I bought a house with lots of large white walls, I just wanted a way to cheaply decorate, so I began making paintings. When friends and family saw these, they urged me to sell my work and began asking for specific things. This started me on my way.
What artists have influenced your work the most?
Andy Warhol was one of my influences, and later on I discovered Leonid Afremov and really enjoyed his use of color. I fell in love with his work. I also enjoy the work of so many realist painters, too numerous to list. Steve Anthony is a very talented artist whom I consider to be a mentor. I met him in my first art competition.
What’s your favorite piece of artwork that you created? Tell us more about its influence.
Valentina De Los Muertos, 24 x 36 inch Acrylic on canvas by Mandy Joy
“Valentina De Los Muertos” was my very favorite piece. I just loved the colors and the way they blended, and the evolution of two of my favorite styles of painting coming together on the canvas. I was very proud of how she turned out. It was a major let-down when she was stolen from the gallery wall. Some people told me that one thing they enjoyed so much about the masked series of girls (my Dia De Los Muertos series) is that it could be anybody behind the mask, even themselves. I’ve now been commissioned to to a painting like this of a breast cancer survivor, baring her scar in her painting, with a message of strength in the form of a tattoo. I just love that my original painting will be evolving like that!
What inspires you? Does it change? What else has inspired you?
Wild animals were my first inspiration. As a teenager I drew tigers and bears often. After becoming an aunt and eventually a mother, children were my new inspiration. I drew their adorable baby faces and spent days noticing and rendering their adorable highlights and shadows and every detail of their beautiful faces. When I moved across the country, the new landscapes I discovered were my next love. After that came an abstract phase. Then a modern impressionist colorful tree phase. After forcing myself to paint the one thing I was truly afraid to attempt, painting people in all their lovely skin tones became a new passion. Who knows what’s next! Sometimes a custom order sparks a whole new interest in something I never would have thought to do!
What do you experience when you’re creating your art?
Joy, anger, joy, self-doubt, pride, more joy, frustration, excitement, fear, embarrassment, focus, immersion, and hopefully again at the end, joy.
How do you know when an artwork is finished?
Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I hide it and come back a year later and change something. Sometimes I hate it still but someone else sees it and buys it and then it’s out of my sight. Sometimes I think it’s perfect and a customer thinks otherwise. Other times it becomes what I had in my mind all along and it is obviously done. Painting people’s portraits is the hardest. There’s at least a day or two that I come back and change tiny things repeatedly and drive myself insane!
What is the most important artist tool that you use?
My mind.
What can’t you live without in the studio?
Grids, rulers, pencils, erasers, angled brushes, and this one awful, beat up old scraggly house painting brush that is just perfect for painting nature scenes.
Why do you create art?
It has become a need. It wasn’t always, but it grew into one. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say that I didn’t have the self awareness in my earlier years to know that it was a need. Now it is almost like an itch that you absolutely have to scratch, or a restless leg that wakes you up at night. I feel antsy and jittery and annoyed when I haven’t painted in too long.
What do you enjoy working with the most?
Acrylic paint. So far!
Do you have any upcoming shows or exhibits that you’d like to share?
Always! March 31, 2016 is the opening day of the Elite Artists Show at
Jana’s RedRoom in Las Vegas. As soon as I joined the gallery a year ago,
I made it my goal to be on the Elite Artist Team, and this year I am proud
to be on that team!
How can people buy your art? Where can they reach you?
There are several ways to see and buy my work! I have an artist profile
(listed as Mandy Joy) on ArtsArtistsArtwork.com, Fineartamerica.com, and
on Vangoart.co. If you prefer to see and buy in person, I always have
something on the wall at Jana’s RedRoom Gallery, Twisted Artist Gallery,
and Wonderland Gallery. I also do local events in Las Vegas and plan to
market my work in other cities. I announce these details as they come on
Facebook and Instagram. You can reach me online at the following links:
Website: Art by Mandy Joy
Facebook: Art By Mandy Joy
Instagram @art_by_mandy_joy
Arts, Artists, Artwork: Mandy Joy
