Mandy Saile (a.k.a. “Bijou” of ‘Bijou’s Whimsy’) was born in 1977, in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. She can’t remember a time when a pencil was not a constant companion so it was no surprise that she was off to art college at the age of 16. She knew early on that she was destined to be a visual communicator.

She graduated from the Ontario College of Art & Design with associate & honors standing in 1999, where she minored in communication & design and majored in illustration. After several years in the big city, she happily moved from Toronto back to North Bay where she currently makes her home with her husband Jonathan and their family of rabbits. Mandy has been a member of Art On Main since June of 2009.

Mandy is a mixed media artist and has many mediums in her artistic arsenal including acrylic paint, collage, paper cutting, and pastel. But, her preferred medium is her beloved set of Prismacolor pencils with which she masterfully creates rich, vibrant, and refreshingly whimsical works. Her work more often than not depicts people with their ‘inner workings, struggles & strengths’. But she also does work which shows & encompasses her love for rabbits, the natural world, and her passion for animals and their conservation. And often Mandy’s work is just simple meant to inspire and invoke joy.