Manda Comisari
Fine Artist specializing in gouache
About Manda
Manda Comisari is a fine artist, illustrator, and author from California specializing in gouache works on paper.
She earned a BFA in Studio Art from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MFA in Illustration from the University of Edinburgh, graduating with distinction. Over the years, her creative practice has spanned multiple disciplines, beginning with private commissions and evolving into projects for commercial clients across editorial, advertising, and product packaging. She is a traditionally published author and has worked as an editor for scripts in the film and TV industry, as well as a story editor for middle-grade and early-reader children’s books.
Drawn to the power of storytelling and the slow, deliberate process of creating artworks by hand, Manda’s paintings explore color, texture, and emotional resonance. Her work resists easy categorization, often blurring the boundaries between narrative and concept, and merging the visual language of illustration with the depth of contemporary painting. Throughout her practice, she moves between playfulness and contemplation—capturing joy and whimsy while uncovering the quiet complexities beneath the surface.
Her work has been recognized by International Artists Magazine, the Society of Animal Artists, the David Shepherd Wildlife Foundation, Best of Artists, the Pentawards, the Creativity Awards, BuzzFeed, the AOI World Illustration Awards, and 3x3 Magazine of Contemporary Illustration.
She documents her studio practice and reflections on her blog and shares occasional updates via her newsletter. You can sign up here.
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I’ve always been drawn to emotional stories—ones that spark self-reflection, inspire unlikely connections, or open space for curiosity and wonder. That same sensibility runs through my work, which invites viewers to look closer and discover meaning in the unexpected.
One of my favorite examples is the Unusual Animal Messages oracle deck, where I intentionally included odd or often-maligned creatures (like the cockroach) as messengers. To me, if someone can recognize a small part of themselves in an insect they’d normally dismiss, then I’ve succeeded in making my larger point: empathy doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It turns out we’re all far more alike than we realize.
I draw inspiration from Mother Nature, my own lived experiences, and a quiet understanding that everything around us exists in layers. The natural world offers endless metaphors for the human condition, and I’ve come to believe the universe is as funny as it is profound.
Gouache captivates me for the same reasons I love a great story: it keeps me curious. The medium itself doesn’t quite fit any category. Neither watercolor nor acrylic; too opaque for one and too matte for the other. And that liminality draws me in. Painting with gouache feels like a quiet rebellion against the notion that fine art must be large, glossy, or rendered in “serious” materials like oil. For me, gouache offers something else entirely: intimacy, immediacy, and honesty.
It has taught me to embrace imperfections, follow curveballs, and trust the process even when the outcome is unclear. Some of my most meaningful pieces began as happy accidents, revealing new approaches I couldn’t have planned for. Gouache is the ultimate wild card that brings me back to the table again and again and again.
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ALIVE | The French Institute | Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2020
ANNUAL | John Byrne Awards | Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2020
SUMMER EXHIBITION | Gradcurate | Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2020
WORLD ILLUSTRATION AWARDS | Association of Illustrators | London, United Kingdom, 2017
28TH ANNUAL MADE IN CALIFORNIA | Brea Art Gallery | Brea, California/ United States, 2013
WILDLIFE ARTIST OF THE YEAR | Mall Galleries | London, United Kingdom, 2013
ART AND THE ANIMAL | Society of Animal Artists | Bennington, Vermont/ United States, 2013
