Artists create works that are fresh, thoughtful, spontaneous, and insightful using a variety of mediums ranging from paint and leather to ceramics and three-dimensional creations through repurposed, found, and donated objects. Proceeds from all artworks sold go directly to the artists, supporting their vision, voice, and passion for creative development.
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Artists First, In Living Color.
Ricky Douglas.
Imagine this, a world beyond the stars a place of wonder and magic. Imagine bizarre lands, creatures, and societies. Imagine this place of humanity echoed in a kaleidoscope of characters. Imagine this, a world of war, love, violence, hope and the human spirit. I’m Ricky Douglas, I’ve been imagining other worlds my entire life. I enjoy drawing pictures of faraway lands and telling stories. I feel that my mental illness has given me a different perspective. It just proves that a seemingly negative occurrence can lead to a world of wonder.
As an adult with autism, Ricky has been involved with the Artists First for several years. He works with charcoal, pencil, colored pencil, paint pens, watercolor and acrylic and he also has worked with ceramics. He is proficient with computer 2D and 3D graphics. Ricky’s first painting at Artists First called “Red Headed Girl” won 2nd place in a statewide contest of paintings by adults with disabilities. The painting toured the state and was on display at the Capital Building in Jefferson City for several months.
As an adult with autism, Ricky has been involved with the Artists First for several years. He works with charcoal, pencil, colored pencil, paint pens, watercolor and acrylic and he also has worked with ceramics. He is proficient with computer 2D and 3D graphics. Ricky’s first painting at Artists First called “Red Headed Girl” won 2nd place in a statewide contest of paintings by adults with disabilities. The painting toured the state and was on display at the Capital Building in Jefferson City for several months.
Charles Baunach has enjoyed art since childhood. Following various health set backs, Charles says that he did nothing for many years and that Artists First helped him resume creating his art. Charles enjoys the challenge of using shapes and angles to create the perception of depth and three dimensions in his painting. Charles also enjoys the challenge of re-purposing unused every-day items or items found in nature, such as, transforming an old wooden baseball bat or interesting looking branch into a walking stick or transforming seashells into pieces of jewelry. Charles also enjoys photography, gardening, and making jewelry.
Nakia Jones always has enjoyed art; however, it was not until her adult years that she began devoting her time to developing her artistic skills. A regular at the Artists First studio, Nakia always is prepared to paint, draw, make jewelry, sew and create art using new and different mediums. Nakia, who has an infectious grin, often offers helpful suggestions and advice to other artists. Her patience and thoughtfulness is reflected in each piece of her art. Always up for a challenge, Nakia says, “I like to do art because it makes me feel good. I feel proud of myself that I can do art.”
Jimmy “Sir James Shepherd” Holmes has been making art since 1st grade. He uses art to live his life and to contemplate and philosophize upon important and sometimes controversial issues. Jimmy likes pretending and using his imagination as he creates heroes, “sheroes”, brains, toilets, feathers and other pencil, ink and watercolor art. “It’s fun pretending to be the characters I create,” Jimmy says. People who view a piece of Jimmy’s art usually are treated to a thought-provoking question or statement to ponder.
Kevin Ngo.
Greetings ladies and gentlemen, my name is Kevin Ngo. So, what I've worked on is a series of characters from my epic adult science fantasy romance series. The story of Reincarnation: A Dance of Yin and Yang takes place in an Asiatic-like fictional world called Mortal World (or Mortal Realm), home to humans, animals, and spirits. The story is centered around the eight young adults from different nations and clans of two separate teams; Holy Beasts and Fiend Beasts. I made these images with colored pencils, watercolors, acrylic ink, acrylic paint, acrylic paint markers, and oil pastels. The inspiration for this project came from, tokusatsu, the martial arts films of Ang Lee and Bruce Lee, Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films, xianxia, and anime/manga. I’m also inspired by the Star Wars Original Saga (1-6), Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. The main reason I created this series of artwork is to showcase that creativity can still make something new and fresh without relying on existing intellectual property or being unoriginal or creatively bankrupt (cough Di$ney cough). I'm an artist who loves to tell a story that brings a deep message, strong emotions, and fully expresses creativity without playing it safe, or bowing down to censorship, cancel culture, and political correctness fear-mongering bullies. I hope you enjoy my art, I hope this inspires you to create your own vision, style, and creativity.
David Page.
Angela Gee has been experimenting with acrylic paints at home and at the Artists First studio for several years. Though visually impaired from a young age and lacking in formal art education, she loves combining unconventional tools/materials (such as credit cards and bubble wrap) with the simplicity of lines and circles to create complex and unusual abstract art.
Most recently she has been learning the art of acrylic pouring; taking normally "gloppy" paint from a tube and adding medium to it to make it liquid and easily manipulated by the tilting of a canvas. Acrylic pouring allows her to make paintings with lots of detail, detail that might not be possible for her to produce with a brush due to her changing visual acuity.
Her inspiration comes from everywhere: furniture design, architecture, people, textiles and of course, other artists. Committed to the abstract image, she never names, only numbers her pieces. Inviting the viewer to dive in and see/feel whatever they can without the limit a name or label can sometimes create. “After all,” she says, “promoting playful discussion which foster's deeper personal connection is what art is all about.”
Most recently she has been learning the art of acrylic pouring; taking normally "gloppy" paint from a tube and adding medium to it to make it liquid and easily manipulated by the tilting of a canvas. Acrylic pouring allows her to make paintings with lots of detail, detail that might not be possible for her to produce with a brush due to her changing visual acuity.
Her inspiration comes from everywhere: furniture design, architecture, people, textiles and of course, other artists. Committed to the abstract image, she never names, only numbers her pieces. Inviting the viewer to dive in and see/feel whatever they can without the limit a name or label can sometimes create. “After all,” she says, “promoting playful discussion which foster's deeper personal connection is what art is all about.”
Rochelle Goldman
My name is Rochelle. I started my art with water painting and adult coloring books. I have a big, gigantic coloring book. I color with special crayons. When I starting coming to Artists First, I was afraid to come because I thought people would make fun of the way my art is. I learned I can do anything I put my mind to. I get my ideas from my art coach, Jasmine at Artists First and from my heart. I like the way I do colors and shapes. My favorite ideas about art are bright colors and shapes. I’m happy when I do art and it makes me relax. I hope you enjoy my artwork as much as I enjoyed making it!
Jason Lee.
Jason Lee has been creating art since he was a very young child. He remembers his first major piece as an eight years old - Super Man and Wonder Woman. Jason paints in many mediums from watercolor to acrylic to pastels. His vibrant colors catch your eye complete with his stylized faces. Combing part of a male head with a female head is a specialty. He also enjoys landscapes which he creates in his head and replicates on paper.
Priscilla, a multi-media artist excels at drawing, painting, writing, and collage work. At the age of thirteen Priscilla began reading Maya Angelou, whose inspiring words encouraged her to write her own poetry. “When I write I get in a zone. It’s like a new dimension that I create but it’s just different parts of my personality. I was really depressed for about a year. I just stayed in my bedroom that entire year. Writing makes it easier for me to work through whatever problems I’m having. I hope that my poetry can help other people that might be feeling the same way that I was.”
It wasn’t long after Priscilla had begun writing poetry that drawing became a passion for her as well. “It’s almost like drawing just sort of slid in to my poetry. I just started drawing the faces of my emotions that were in my poetry.” Priscilla's goal is to enjoy a career as a writer and artist. As a Lifeworks participant, she is gaining the skills needed to do just that at Artists First.
It wasn’t long after Priscilla had begun writing poetry that drawing became a passion for her as well. “It’s almost like drawing just sort of slid in to my poetry. I just started drawing the faces of my emotions that were in my poetry.” Priscilla's goal is to enjoy a career as a writer and artist. As a Lifeworks participant, she is gaining the skills needed to do just that at Artists First.
Steven McGee. |
Danny Speck.![]() |
Danny has earned a reputation in the outsider art community for his unique portraits. Danny enjoys making portraits for people because “it makes them feel good.” For Danny creating art makes him “feel happy.” Danny’s sense of humor often times comes through his art.
Art, Identity and Love over Disabilities and Fear - St. Louisan: http://stlouisan.com/2016/02/art-identity-and-love-over-disabilities-and-fear/ |
Paul Stanton.![]() |
Paul was born and raised in the city of Saint Louis. Paul’s experience living in Saint Louis often influences his artwork. Paul explains that he had a “tough time coming up…living in poverty…seeing crime all around.” Despite Paul’s difficult experiences he always maintains a sunny disposition and is able to see the best in situations. Paul started off as a self-taught artist; today he has mastered a unique figurative technique. Paul receives joy through sharing his artwork with others.
Painter Paul Stanton's All About the Music - St. Louis Magazine: http://www.stlmag.com/arts/visual-arts/the-art-of-sound-artist-paul-stanton/ |
Brandon Harris is meticulous in his art. With a photographic memory, Brandon’s forte is sketching city scenes in fine detail. Brandon enjoys drawing architectural structures particularly of cities such as New York City, Chicago and Saint Louis. Brandon uses his art in part to communicate and share his love of travel.
Lines, dots, shapes; colored pencils, chalk; tedious, deliberate, patterned. Julie’s unique brand of art takes time and patience, each new piece representing a work in progress that often takes months to complete. The end result might look like books on a bookshelf, a kaleidoscope of colors, or some sort of abstract of lines and/or dots going in all different directions. Most of Julie’s artwork is small in size, but chockfull of color and an invitation to imagine the possibilities. Julie’s use of color and experimentation reflect her friendly, helpful, sometimes mischievous, personality.
Marcellus Andrews.

Marcellus got into art when he was ten years old. He claims he was not good until a few years later when his skills really improved, especially once enrolled in an art class in high school. There, he found that he enjoyed drawing anime characters using colored pencils as his specific medium. As he got older, he became more inspired by anime characters, cartoon and comic book characters, as well as the outdoors. Today, Marcellus still loves drawing comic books and comic book characters and is heavily inspired by his everyday surroundings.
The words leather and Billy Drope go together like canvas and paintbrush. From the tink, tink, tink of his beveling tool to the bam, bam, bam of his rubber hammer, Billy always has a work in progress.
Billy is quick to describe his ever-changing ideas and plans for his next leather project, to show his work, and to offer his expertise to teens and adults at Artists First. Billy has won several ribbons for his leatherwork, which includes pictures, belts, coasters, bracelets, a purse, a wine bottle holder, a lamp and a footstool.
Billy is quick to describe his ever-changing ideas and plans for his next leather project, to show his work, and to offer his expertise to teens and adults at Artists First. Billy has won several ribbons for his leatherwork, which includes pictures, belts, coasters, bracelets, a purse, a wine bottle holder, a lamp and a footstool.
Shelly has experimented with a variety of mediums such as paint markers, acrylic paints and colored pencils. Her abstract artistic style reflects mostly nature and animals. Shelly Art for Shelly is both “relaxing” and a “socialization activity”
Melelanie Perry |
Freddie Baker.In Loving Memory
August 5, 1954 - April 30, 2017 |
Melelani Perry is an artist ready to create anywhere, out of anything at anytime. She’s been an artist forever, and doesn’t remember even a single time in life where she stopped creating. She's been in more art shows and sold more pieces of work than she can count. She creates colorful collages, paints, and sews her own dresses.
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ARTISTS FIRST
7190 Manchester Road, Maplewood, MO 63143
(314) 781-4440
7190 Manchester Road, Maplewood, MO 63143
(314) 781-4440