J. Desy Schoenewies relocated from Oakland, CA to Spearfish, South Dakota in 2012. Having spent much of her career in St. Louis, MO, receiving an MFA from Fontbonne University in 2010 in studio painting. Desy brings her outsider perspective, using her disciplined oil painting technique and strategic symbolism to tell the stories of people and their relationships with places. Desy is currently an Assistant Professor of Art at Black Hills State University and is a member of the Artists of the Black Hills. She is a recent recipient of a Career Development Grant from the South Dakota Arts Council.