Meet Hilary Mangel | Artist at Paints Like A Girl

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

Hi Hilary, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
When COVID hit in March of 2020, everything seemed to go on hold. There was so much going on not only with the pandemic, but also with social injustice. I wanted to do what I could to help, so I organized an event called Create4Change. I asked local artists to donate pieces they had created for us to auction off to the highest bidder. I also asked artists to attend the event to live paint, auctioning off their pieces at the end of the event. We ended up having 9 artists paint live, and over 20 donated pieces of art. We also had some amazing local performers donate their time to sing, recite poetry and DJ as entertainment. It was amazing to have so many artistic people in the community get together to give their talents for good, All money raised went to the National Coalition of 100 Black Women – West Palm Beach Chapter,

I feel that as an artist, I have a voice that I can use to help make the world a better place. By organizing and hosting events like this, I know I am doing just that.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I would describe my art as colorful, whimsical, and fun. My pieces most often include animals, fruit, and flowers as my subject matter, and I put them together in out of the box ways. I like to think of ways to set my art apart from the rest. Sometimes that means adding embellishments to my pieces, like glitter, jewels, and buttons, sometimes I put accessories on animals (like reflective sunglasses, fruit turbans, and jewelry), and sometimes I even take a subject, and hide pictures within a picture. It’s often that when you look at my pieces, you’ll see something new each time!

My name came about because I always hated when people say that people “throw like a girl”, scream “like a girl”, etc. I decided that the “like a girl”phrase would be a positive statement. I paint like a girl, and I’m PROUD OF IT!!!

I majored in art for my Bachelors degree, and I had a hard time figuring out what to do with my degree. When I moved down to South Florida, I quickly gravitated to the artist community. Luckily it was not hard to find my people, there are often flyers and ads posted so I was able to get involved pretty quickly. What I have found is that I really like to create public art, but to really get into that, I have had to give a lot of my time. I painted 3 murals on the Unity Wall in Lake Worth. it was an unpaid job, but it stood for a lot. The wall previously stood for segregation, but they wanted to rework the wall to have a more positive meaning. By doing projects like this, I have been able to network with other artists, meet people, and I have gotten more work and opportunities by giving my time. You cannot expect to just be able to get into the art world without first giving yourself to art. Now I have created over 50 murals in the South Florida area from schools, breweries, clubs, and more!

In addition to public art, I enjoy giving other artists the opportunities to showcase their work. I organize and host events for my fellow artists from art markets to Art Throwdowns. This also allows me to work with local businesses to help bring in new clientele and give the artists the opportunity to vend to people that may have never come across their art before. I enjoy helping out many small businesses at once!

For any artists just starting out: network! Find other like-minded people and share resources. Follow them on social media! When they post about an event or art call, or mural, ask if you can participate too! It is slow moving, but if you keep trying, and stay positive, it’ll work for you, too!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wynwood Miami – Get some awesome pictures with with the murals Bayside Miami – Shops, food and fun!
The Alchemist Cafe – Wilton Manors-Yummy food and murals
Lips – Fort Lauderdale – Amazing Drag show/Drinks/and Dinner
OddBalls Nifty Thrift – Oakland Park – Amazing Vintage shopping
Dada – Delray – Artsy restaurant
Coral Castle – Homestead – Outdoor garden with sculptures
Flamingo Garden – Davie – Botanical Gardens and Animals
Everglades Holiday Park – Go on an airboat ride
Key Largo – Swim with Dolphins, go to the tiki bar
Go to ANY beach!!!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to credit my amazing husband, Marck Mangel. He is a constant light, and encourages me and supports my endeavors without question. I would not be who I am today without him,

Website: www.paintslikeagirl.com

Instagram: @PaintsLikeAGirl

Facebook: @PaintsLikeAGirl