Sigh … spray paint never looked so sweet. I am beyond thrilled to have American artist Mando Marie as my guest for the final episode of AFYE Season One, and I have to say, it’s feeling very ‘full circle’ for me. One of the first artists I ever wrote about was a woman named Amanda Marie. ‘Obsessed with her work’ might have been an understatement at the time. Anyway, we emailed back and forth all those years ago but somewhere along the way I lost track of her. Her url had changed and I couldn’t find her work, until a few weeks ago when I got a PR email from her gallery in Amsterdam. My heart skipped a beat and I immediately emailed to see if she’d be my 100th guest. Spoiler alert : she said yes! She now goes by the name Mando Marie, so that was the first question I asked. You can listen right up there under those floating/falling girls, or you can subscribe on iTunes.

First things first, some of her older work that I was in love with back in the day. Please note the brilliant use of animal heads on children:

Gah. Amazing. Slightly soul-crushing for me at the time, but inspiring none the less … you’ll have to listen to know what I’m referring to!

Mando’s animal head days are mostly behind her, except for the odd wolf that shows up here and there:

Oh, I’m so glad they’re not totally gone… I still love them!

Next, a very important element. Rainbows:

Ah yes… pastel-hued rainbows created with spray paint. So dreamy {and her 8 year old daughter approves}.

This might be my favorite thing about Mando’s current work … her murals ie. strange / sweet street art. Here are just a few of the many in her portfolio, and a few shots of Mando in action:

The ghosts. Seriously, I could not love them more.

These images cover a couple of things we talked about … sparkles and sewing patterns:

I said ‘sigh’ already, right?

And finally, the golden walls of Spain… one of Mando’s favorite places to paint:

I would love to wander past one of her works, well, anywhere in the world {Japan one day, perhaps!}. Thank you so much to Amanda Mando for being my 100th guest! It was so surreal to finally talk to her and I loved every second! Thanks as always to Saatchi Art for supporting the episode, AND this entire season… all 100 episodes! Now, don’t worry, just because Season One is over, that doesn’t mean there won’t be Art For Your Ear… because Art For Your Ear SUMMER CAMP starts next weekend! Get your art supplies and s’mores ready!

Other links:

1. Original posts I wrote about “Amanda Marie”
2. Andenken Gallery, Amsterdam
3. The Marcy Project, New York
4. Rocky Mountain College of Art & Design
5. Bunnie Reiss episode
6. Cave Gallery, Venice Beach