Amy Kustra (b. 1972, Grosse Pointe, MI)

Amy spent her childhood in both Michigan and New Rochelle, NY. After going to school in San Francisco, she was called to Maine, where she currently resides.

Travel is a formative part of Amy’s life and as a teen she traveled throughout Europe and Asia to study art. Early influences were the rawness of Egon Schiele’s paintings, the immensity of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and the melding of deep tradition and craft in Bali.

Amy continues to travel regularly and visits her family in Croatia often. Recently she took a year-long painting trip throughout the American West, Alaska, Europe and Asia.

Prior to becoming an artist, Amy received degrees in environmental studies, anthropology and medicine. After a chance encounter with Mother Teresa she decided to become a family doctor, which she did for 20 years. In 2015 she transitioned from a career in medicine to art full time.

Recurrent themes in Amy’s work are the interconnectedness of all life and the vital importance of preserving wild spaces. She loves color and strives to paint as if she is dancing.

Amy has studied with numerous Maine painters, including Patsea Cobb, Liz

Prescott, Diane Dahlke, Judy Taylor, Colin Page, and Timothy Wilson. She has also taken coursework through the New York Academy of Art. More recently she has been studying abstract expressionism in Santa Fe, NM.

Amy’s work has been exhibited throughout the North East and New York City. It is held in hospitals and private collections throughout the U.S. and internationally.