Emily Donaldson Bell—a painter, teacher, mother, AND Collector OF stories

Raised in the Midwest and now living in Utah, I’ve been making art since I was small. Creativity has always been a throughline in my life. But it wasn’t until my 40s—after years at home raising five children—that I returned to school, earned my BFA, and began teaching high school art. That season of motherhood, faith, and becoming shaped both my process and the stories I’m drawn to.

Now, as we foster a teenage son, our family continues to grow in unexpected and hopeful ways. That unfolding story is part of me—and part of my work.

I’m drawn to the mythic in the ordinary: fairytales, magical realism, quiet moments that hum with something deeper. I paint to hold what’s hard, to name what’s tender, and to make beauty out of what we carry.