Mandy Fitzgerald

Freelance Artist

Washington, D.C.

Mandy Fitzgerald graduated from VCU School of the Arts with a BFA from the Painting and Printmaking department. Soon after becoming a full time painter, she was named the "Visual Artist of the Year" for Richmond, VA by RAW: natural born artists. Her work has been displayed in public and private collections across the country, including Artist Image Resource in Pittsburgh, PA and SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery in New York. She has been featured in The Washington Post, Richmond Magazine, and Wayfair among others. She is the founder of the "Artists to Know" interview series for creative entrepreneurs as well as the author of "Now That I Have Your Attention", an instructional eBook for makers looking to gain brand recognition and increase sales through blogging. Since 2015 she has been a sponsored writer for DecoArt: Manufacturer of Americana ® acrylic paint, reviewing their products on her blog while working with Michaels and A.C. Moore Craft Stores to make painting more relatable.

Working primarily with acrylic on buttery smooth claybord panels, Fitzgerald creates her paintings in a very physical way; throwing paint, scraping at it with her fingers and nails, becoming as much a part of the process as possible. Her current figurative series, "Adventures in Anti-Depressants", explores themes of escapism, feminist theory, and the stigma behind mental illness. In hopes that others will feel less alone in their own personal struggles, Fitzgerald's goal is to be as honest and open as possible when it comes to the darkness behind the work she creates.