About

Amy VanDonsel is a painter and mixed media artist. Originally from upstate New York, she has lived in Saint Louis, Missouri since 2000. She is also the Director of Development and Marketing for the community-based visual arts non-profit St. Louis Open Studio and Gallery (SCOSAG.)

In 1998, she began her career by learning stagecraft and theatrical painting through volunteer work for community theatres and educational programs. She eventually became a full-time scenic artist and design assistant, collaborating on sets for theatre companies including the Muny, the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, and Stages St. Louis. She also created murals and interior finishes while working on renovation projects like downtown’s Thaxton and Cosmopolitan buildings.

Although a large scale realistic painter by training and trade, Amy was always drawn to paper, books, text, script, and abstractions. She began exploring non-commissioned art in 2003 by collecting found items and incorporating text and texture into her painting through experimentation with bookarts and collage. As her work evolved, she developed her own techniques for combining disparate mediums on canvas or panels. Amy is currently working on mixed media paintings, installation, and paper sculpture.

Amy’s work has been exhibited in several group shows, as well as during events benefiting non-profits such as SCOSAG and Poetry Scores, and she takes individual commissions for paintings and illustration. She completed her first solo exhibition at Fort Gondo Compound for the Arts in 2010. Her illustration was a cover feature for the journal Molecular Cell in 2009. She has also created interactive projects utilizing the visual arts as a corporate team building tool for clients including the Federal Reserve Bank of Saint Louis.

Her studio, which she shares with her partner in crime and a dog with huge ears, is located in the unique Cherokee Street community and has been featured in ReadyMade, ApartmentTherapy.com, and Delux Magazine. Even though she is currently pursuing some formal education, Amy is also committed to the ideas of life long self-learning. She enjoys reading, knitting, cooking, gardening, junk sales, magazines, a proper cup of tea, sweaters, and half-priced wine night.