Mandy Main
Rancho Mirage, California
Artist Mandy Main captures the grandeur of nature through panoramic landscapes. "My works are a spiritual outpouring, a reflection of my inner being," says Mandy. After studying art in college, she worked in art history and arts management during the 1980s while continuing to develop her passion for landscape painting. When the genre became popular again in the 1990s, she began painting and selling her work alongside her day job, eventually making the leap to a full-time artistic career in 2003. Mandy works from a studio in her home, where she paints in silence and keeps an oriental carpet beneath her easel. She draws inspiration from the landscapes she photographs herself, as well as the many places she visits, from beaches and mountains to wine country. When not painting, Mandy enjoys traveling, visiting museums and gardens, hiking, golfing, and cooking, especially Thai food, inspired by the 18 months she lived in Thailand and her many visits since.
Artist Statement
My paintings are informed by nature and capture a sense of place, but I take great license in interpreting what is actually seen.
I love panoramic vistas and a sense of depth and movement and I push these elements to draw the viewer into the painting.
The fleeting nature of light and clouds become dramatic subjects in my work. I use a subdued palette of warm colors, applied in layers of glazes to achieve a luminous effect. I work on six paintings at a time, usually working on two per day with two days of drying time between layers. Before I begin a series of paintings I envision where they will ultimately take me. I paint in silence and in total concentration. The paintings are with me constantly, I even work on them while sleeping. I am continually coming up with ideas of what I want to say about nature and the world and I never want to stop painting, I have to keep expressing these ideas. In this way, the paintings are a spiritual outpouring. A part of my inner being is woven into every painting I create.
I love panoramic vistas and a sense of depth and movement and I push these elements to draw the viewer into the painting.
The fleeting nature of light and clouds become dramatic subjects in my work. I use a subdued palette of warm colors, applied in layers of glazes to achieve a luminous effect. I work on six paintings at a time, usually working on two per day with two days of drying time between layers. Before I begin a series of paintings I envision where they will ultimately take me. I paint in silence and in total concentration. The paintings are with me constantly, I even work on them while sleeping. I am continually coming up with ideas of what I want to say about nature and the world and I never want to stop painting, I have to keep expressing these ideas. In this way, the paintings are a spiritual outpouring. A part of my inner being is woven into every painting I create.
Artist Background
University of California, Los Angeles
Master of Arts, 1980
Stanford University
Bachelor of Arts, 1977