Oil on (usually) canvas mounted on cradled Birch panels
website: JandiSmall.com
email: JandiSmallArt@gmail.com
Jandi Small is an oil painter whose work blends reality and imagination, drawing viewers into dreamlike worlds where humans and oversized animals share familiar, often rural settings. Through magical realism, she explores the emotional and mystical bonds between people and animals, as well as the haunting beauty of the Pacific Northwest. The region’s fog-laced forests, wide horizons, and shifting light fuel her sense of wonder, inspiring landscapes that feel both grounded and otherworldly.
Raised in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Jandi grew up among farmland, almond orchards, and animals. Days spent on her family’s almond and dairy farms—along with early art lessons and steady encouragement from her adventurous, art-loving father—shaped her creative path. Although she studied Biology and Landscape Architecture at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, her passion for painting never faded and was later enriched by extensive travel across the U.S. and abroad.
Her current work reimagines human–animal relationships, transforming ordinary scenes into extraordinary narratives. By playing with scale and context, she invites viewers to slow down, reflect, and uncover the hidden meaning within the everyday. Her goal is to create paintings that evoke emotion and spark imagination, celebrating the beauty, mystery, and wildness of the natural world.
Jandi’s work has appeared in galleries and exhibitions, and her pet portrait commissions have raised tens of thousands of dollars for animal rescue. She continues to explore and observe the natural world, creating paintings that connect viewers to both the visible and unseen magic of nature.
