Mande Calhoun

"I am Mande Gaffney, a peace-seeking painter living in Johns Island, SC. My story is a little unique compared to traditional artists in that during art school, I got a lot of “you aren’t doing that right” and “don’t mix that with that,” and honestly, I gave up on traditional painting and started making digital art instead.

Over the next ten years, I grew my digital art practice and became a Creative Director, working in digital agencies. I did not touch a brush again until I began to wish for the absence of screens. My love of nature and peace are what drove me back into the arms of painting. 

Fast forward a few years: I grew my hobby into a small business, Mande Calhoun Art, LLC (mandecalhounart, LLC) while forming partnerships with  Minted.com, Juniper Print Shop, Pulp Print Shop, and others. My work has been featured on Apartment Therapy, HGTV, and Vogue. I mostly paint on scraps of paper that I hand rip, and because of my digital background, I can scan, scale, crop, and edit them into 60x40 prints. I use whatever medium I want, often mixing pastels with watercolors and acrylics, and if I am feeling it - sand, tea and pencils. I paint to find peace, usually on the floor with loud music playing in the background (leading to the occasional dance break)."