A Painter of People and Places

Artist Anne Molasky is inspired by the outdoors and its many shades of light.

- By Jen Roberts

AS A YOUNG GIRL, St. Louis native Molasky searched for images everywhere, in puffy white clouds and in the condensation forming on window glass. Inspired by her grandmother, who was also an artist, Molasky created make-believe worlds using rocks, sticks, and dandelions where she let her imagination go. “I don’t remember a time when I didn’t consider myself an artist,” she says.

Molasky began private art lessons when she was 15. At 20, she earned her first commission. She studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and received her MFA from Washington University. Specializing in portraits and landscapes, Molasky continues to be inspired by nature. In her work, she is drawn to capturing a subject’s personality and the way light falls on them. “I believe that being an artist is more about the way one observes and reflects on the world than what they produce,” she says.