Meet Amanda Excell | Artist & Maker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Excell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, what is the most important factor behind your success?
Before I became “Mandi Excell,” I was known as “Excellama Art.” At the time, I relied heavily on commissions, drawing what clients, friends, or family requested. But one day, I got so frustrated with a rude client who asked for 30 revisions that it made me realize art wasn’t fun for me anymore—I felt burnt out. So, I stopped taking commissions and took a year-long hiatus.

When I rebranded, I made a promise to only create things I genuinely enjoyed: memes, cats, and bright colors. I embraced my creative freedom and started drawing whatever popped into my head—Shrek + Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Keanu Reeves in pigtails, Nicholas Cage in a Princess Peach cosplay. Then, I thought, why stop there? I wanted to explore more than just digital art. I began experimenting with acrylic painting, making dolls, crafting clay magnets, and more.

I often get asked by people at my art booth, “Why do you do all this?” And I just respond, “Bro, I don’t know—I felt like it.” People who get it, get it. Those who don’t? Well, they don’t. Embracing my authentic self and laughing at my own jokes has played a big part in my success over the years and I feel like I’m a lot happier creating things lately.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My day job is as a UX/UI designer at a big tech company in their marketing department. All day, I focus on figuring out what’s marketable, what will make users happy, and all of that. But with my art, I decided I don’t have to care about any of that.

One thing I’m really proud of is how I stopped trying to define myself by the kind of artist I want to be. I kept going back and forth—”Do I want to be a digital artist? A textile artist? Do I want to work with clay?” In the end, I decided to do all of it. If people like what I make, I get to meet cool people with similar interests and a shared sense of humor. If they don’t like it, no harm done.

It’s not easy juggling a day job and a side gig as an artist, but there’s a certain satisfaction when a random person stops by your booth and says, “This is so silly, I love it!” And then you just start vibing with them about this piece of art you made, thinking no one else would like it except for you.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I feel like I’m the worst person to ask but I would probably take them to the following:

Mrs.Fish– At the bar they have the silliest little bird glassware, good sushi, and the bartender laughed at my joke once.
Natural History Mueseum- They have a really good gift shop and I love the exhibits with all the taxidermy and the exhibit with all the different crystals, gemstones, and rocks.
Warner Bros Studio Tour–I don’t know if its still there, but last time I went I got to visit the pet store Pee-Wee hermans saves all those animals from.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a shout-out to Julia Stauder from Dreamland, a consignment store that recently closed it’s doors in Rancho Cucamonga, California. A couple of years back, when I started selling my art, she offered me a spot in her shop that led to making connections with some of the sweetest, most genuine people in the local art community. It also gave me the courage and confidence to expand my art business and try new things. When you start selling art at markets, conventions, and online, It’s been mainly fellow artists being my biggest cheerleaders and supporters throughout the year.

Website: https://linktr.ee/mandi.excell

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mandi.excell/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandaexcell/