Name: Morgan Mandala 

Nickname: Mo

Hometown: LaGrange, IL

Tea or coffee: Coffee

Burrito or sushi: Sushi Burrito 

Favorite time of day to paint: The times when I’m not sleeping 

Favorite bear: Bear or Beer?   Bear: Black Bear    Beer:  been loving Crooked Stave Juicy IPAs

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received: Be wary of advice

Strangest thing in your fridge right now: Vegemite, Gochujang, and a random brick of chocolate labeled “be careful” with a pic of a mushroom and unknown origins…

Every artist should have: Goals. Both big and small goals help give a sense of direction and accomplishment.  When one is reached, create a new one to keep you striving to become better and not get lost at times when things are slow or difficult.

Do you believe in aliens: I think it’s more of a matter of probability than belief… the universe is so large and our lens of it is so small… I believe it is extremely unlikely that we are the only intelligent lifeforms in the universe. 

Origin storytime. Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got into this line of work?  

I’ve drawn and made art obsessively since I was a child.  It was hard to choose a medium, but I ultimately chose painting because I felt like I had a lot of room to grow and improve, and it was a fairly portable art form for travelling.  When I went to school at CSU, I had a group of friends who were musicians, and they would invite me to paint at their shows.  I loved the idea since I loved seeing live music anyways, so I started live painting around 2008, sometimes on stage,  sometimes on the side. I met more and more friends, musicians, artists, and promoters doing this, which led me to more offers to paint at more shows and festivals.  My style started to emerge by incorporating things I had learned from studying ancient cultures and shamanism from around the world, digging into symbolism, different ideas of spirituality, and active meditation practice with mandalas.  I took a class by Amanda Sage in 2011, travelled to Peru, and brought back a group to do Ayahuasca in 2012.  Around that same time, I was touring the USA painting and collaborating.  I had my 1st solo show in Denver in 2015, and shortly after took a class with Alex and Allyson Grey, and soon after started teaching a class one time a year at CoSM in New York.  From 2012-2019 I was travelling nationally and internationally to live paint at festivals, and incorporating travel photos into my paintings.  When Covid hit, there were no festivals, so I spent countless hours hiking into the backcountry of our beautiful state, and began a dedicated practice of plein air painting (*the art of painting in the open air). I hope to continue to expand and transform on this journey. 

 

What do mandalas represent to you? There are many things I like about the mandala…the  continuous, blooming pattern originates from a singular point and seems to multiply, almost like the big bang or beginning of creation. Each expanding point is influenced by the one before it, which I see as a metaphor for interconnectedness. It is a visual organization of the ways things work and work together. The idea of the one and many acting as a whole. I think of sacred geometry/mandala as what things would be like under a microscope (such as the structure of the flower of life mimicking cell division) as well as overall energies zoomed out (the patterns around objects as you watch the sunset on psychedelics).

 

You’ve traveled around the world to paint and teach painting. How have these experiences affected your work? Yes! I feel like I learn a ton when I am travelling internationally.  Being immersed in different cultures and landscapes is endlessly fascinating to me. I take a lot of photos when I’m travelling that I later use in my paintings. I try to spend time experiencing the wildlife as well as the culture of places I go. I try to learn new methods to make art and food and anything else I can absorb from the local community.  

You teach a master class on painting. What’s the best part of seeing new artists come up? I love seeing people’s passion for art, and watching them improve through their dedication. The best part about teaching workshops (and taking workshops) is facilitating a container that brings lasting friendships and deep connections through a common interest. Painting for 8+ hours a day with a group of people, being vulnerable, as well as being supported and validated creates inspiration and friendships that continue far beyond the class.  

 

You’ve said that you aim to create visual metaphors for our seamless connection to the universe. Can you expand on this?  I use elements like light, colors, and sacred geometry to show how parts of nature resonate with a larger, harmonious whole. I use geometry and continuous “flow lines” to suggest that everything is part of one vibrant system that includes you.  We all come from the earth, but we tend to forget that. I try to show the perfection and science within nature. I would like viewers to feel a sense of unity with both their inner world and the vastness of the cosmos, so I try to allude to both sensitivities.  

 

What’s been the most rewarding aspect of making art? Hard question… 1. the natural high of the ‘flow state’  2. making my own schedule 3. making other people happy.

 

You’re a full-time artist, teacher, inspiration and entrepreneur: what’s next for Morgan Mandala? 

Continue expansion! I’ve got a stack of new paintings that I’m working on, as well as a number of collaborations (clothing, new 3-D frames, an oracle deck, painting collabs) in the works. This year I’ll be doing some local and national festivals, releasing my 1st published work (oracle deck coming soon!), and expanding my art knowledge in an adjacent realm…I’m learning the skill of tattoo!    

 

Sorry, but we have to ask, what is your stance on psychedelics?

While I don’t believe psychedelics are for everyone (depending on family history and mental/emotional/physical health concerns), I am pro-psychedelics in general. I painted at the 1st Mushroom Cup last year in Denver, Shroomski parties, as well as many other ‘psychedelic’ and legalization events. They have inspired my art in many ways. While I don’t trip often, the profound experiences I’ve had continue to inform my art and my life indefinitely. When treated with reverence, they can be a tool to help unravel traumas, reconnect with yourself, nature, and help refocus on what is meaningful to you…and the visuals are a great bonus. 🙂

You live in the mountains of Boulder. It’s not very stressful. What inspiration do you pull from the mountains and nature? I live on the side of a canyon where I get to watch the clouds roll in and the sun go down over the mountains.  While certain aspects of life in the mountains can be stressful (wildfire danger, not having any service if electricity is out, mountain lions), it is generally serene and beautiful. I can see the effects of living in the mountains on all my neighbors’ smiling faces when we occasionally pass on hikes. The life of the forest with both its subtle and drastic changes each day emphasizes impermanence and helps me be more present. I can walk to the creek at the bottom of the canyon and hike up to the tops of Boulder’s open space. Living here keeps me active, which has been essential for keeping me productive and clear headed as an artist. I hike and plein air paint deeper into the mountains as well, typically to alpine lakes in summer, and some backcountry skiing in the winter. I take a lot of high-resolution photos to use for my paintings, in addition to doing on-site paintings and studies. I love to catch the glass-like reflections around sunrise on alpine lakes. I seek moments of dynamic lighting mixed with interesting land composition for my photos. I shoot a lot of wildflowers for reference. I try to emulate in my paintings the natural high that you get from being in the wilderness, and the magic moments alone on the trail. 

When it comes to spirituality, do you believe in a higher being or energy? It’s difficult for me to define exactly what my beliefs are… I think there is a larger organization to the universe that we can’t fully understand.  I think there are perhaps levels of existence that we are unaware of in our everyday life. I like to think there are energies we can’t see that we interact with, but we don’t have the tools to see or measure those energies. I imagine, if anything, it would be more of a higher pattern or purveying intelligence that we are all a part of – not an anthropomorphized being in the clouds.


What’s coming up for you in 2025? I’m looking forward to my 1st oracle deck publication, making more paintings, creating a new clothing line, learning tattoo, skiing, hiking, traveling… and so much more!  Follow me on IG or join my mailing list for upcoming events, workshops, and new offerings 🙂