Mandy Stobo is a passionate artist, entrepreneur, 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. By taking creativity and combining it with technology, Mandy believes that every dream is possible for connection and inspiration in the new world of Web3.
Mandy’s use of vibrant colours and emotions in her paintings are a direct reflection of her outlook on life. Her colourful personality is only matched by her vibrant passion for her hometown of Calgary, Alberta. She is a champion for the city and its artistic and cultural endeavours. Mandy finds herself involved in various projects; from illustrating the children’s book “C is for Calgary”, Grandpa’s Forest, Bee Love and others; to designing brands for various businesses; to working in film and television such as HBO’s The Last Of Us, Fargo, Haunting Melissa, Heartland, Young Drunk Punk, Jann, and Hold The Dark, to name a few.
She also is a leading artist in content creation in the new media of Virtual Reality, adding empathy to a digital space in a magnificent way. With several VR films under her belt and a few in the making, Mandy hopes to create work that holds compassion and has longevity in this landscape. Her newest shows “ Life”, “Queens”, and “Canada’s Walk of Fame” will blend mediums, and utilize augmented reality within her new portraits to help illuminate more of each of the pieces’ stories.
Also, fun fact: Mandy just completed a speaking series globally presenting her work in the digital design field.
It was Mandy’s love for her city that initially sparked the Bad Portrait Project. It started as a humble way for her to celebrate Calgary and its inhabitants through expressive pop-art inspired watercolour and sharpie portraits. However, the project skyrocketed online and beyond Calgary’s city limits with the help of social media. Bad portraits are now seen internationally and are featured in The City of Calgary Public Arts Program, on Calgary C-Trains, branding for companies, personalities, celebrities and politicians. The project has revolutionized the accessibility of art and connects the viewer directly with the artist, and has garnered her many moments in media, experiments in projects, and awards such as Top 40 Under 40, Forbes Magazine, and CBC Q.
Mandy holds a deep connection with music, theatre and film, as she loves to challenge herself through live performance painting using AR, green screens, projection mapping and more. 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 with the use of storytelling in the Metaverse through AR, NFT’s and creativity.
Mandy dreams of providing a solid world for her sons through her art, and will never stop the search for great colour, joy, healing and community building through creation.
