Doni Stahl captured Mansfield’s history one brushstroke at a time

MANSFIELD — Some of Mansfield’s history lives in the places people pass every day. Some of it lives in the paintings Doni Stahl left behind.

Stahl, 72, died Oct. 23 after years of health complications, including problems following a heart transplant in 2020.

Stahl is survived by her daughter, Allison Pence; her grandson, Caleb McKenna; and her siblings, Mark Brown, Beth Brown and Laurel Lessing.

“My mother was an extremely talented artist who was quite well-known in the prime of her career,” Pence said.

(Story continues below. Photos of Doni Stahl and her artwork. Courtesy of Allison Pence.)

“She was super talented, and those paintings, when you look at the detail on them, they’re just amazing,” Judy Stahl, Doni’s sister-in-law, said.

Stahl’s paintings captured locations and memories many residents knew from their own lives. Her paintings featured downtown landmarks, historic homes and familiar businesses, preserving locations in Mansfield.

A love for Mansfield, one brushstroke at a time

Stahl’s connection to Mansfield deepened after she married Burton Stahl in 1988. Burton was a former local musician who played with The Music Explosion; he died in 2023.

“I think their souls sort of worked together as far as their art was their life,” Judy said.

Pence said Stahl loved architecture and houses and worked as an architectural draftsman, experience that may have influenced her paintings.

Before digital photography, Stahl drove around town with a camera, developed her photographs and enlarged copies to transfer the images onto canvas.

“Which is kind of cool because now I have a bunch of pictures of old Mansfield as it was back in you know, the ’90s,” Pence said.

Stahl studied the history of the buildings she painted, researching their architecture, cars and other details from the periods she wanted to portray, Pence said.

Stahl sometimes spent months on a single painting, using brushes with only a few hairs to capture tiny details.

Judy said she remembers watching Stahl paint the mortar between bricks on one of her pieces, using a brush that looked to have about two hairs. 

“The detail was just unbelievable,” Judy said. “There had to be thousands and thousands of strokes with those two layers in order to put the mortar between those bricks.”

Stahl never received formal art training, according to Judy, who described her talent as a natural gift. Her paintings eventually became familiar sights in Richland County, appearing in both Coney Island restaurants, the Chamber building, banks, offices and residences.

Her artwork reached a larger audience when one of her paintings was featured on a billboard on the side of Crowe’s Shoes, complete with a dedication ceremony.

Art reaching beyond Mansfield

Pence said her mother never bragged about her accomplishments, and sometimes wondered whether Stahl fully understood how much her work was appreciated by others.

“It was almost like she was kind of before her time,” Pence said. “Had she experienced that kind of exposure now, in the age of social media, I can only assume the popularity of her work would have exploded.”

Among Stahl’s best-known pieces are paintings featuring Oak Hill and scenes of Malabar Farm.

Her paintings also reached Hollywood. When director John Herzfeld filmed Escape Plan 3: The Extractors in Mansfield, he saw Stahl’s artwork at Coney Island and contacted her about including her paintings in the movie.

Stahl had already begun experiencing serious health problems during that time. Pence said she attended the movie set in her mother’s place. Herzfeld remained in contact with Stahl after filming and eventually passed one of her paintings along to actor Sylvester Stallone.

A legacy that reaches beyond the canvas

Stahl’s paintings carry deep personal meaning for many people. For Judy, they preserve memories of her life and the Mansfield of her childhood.

“Because I was a downtown Mansfield girl, everything that she painted, almost everything that she painted at the beginning was something that really was my life. It was my youth.”

(Story continues below. Photos of Stahl’s artwork in Judy’s house. Courtesy of Judy Stahl)

Judy owns several of Stahl’s prints and original paintings, including one of the home where she grew up on East Third Street. She said the house stood across from the Mansfield Playhouse before crews demolished it to make way for the city building.

Stahl originally painted the house for Burton as a Christmas gift, Judy said. When Burton showed it to her, she began to cry. Burton and Stahl then decided to gift it to Judy instead.

“I just thought it was the most special thing I’d ever seen,” Judy Stahl said. “It is among my very most prized possessions.”

Other paintings Judy treasures include her current home, her former home near Possum Run, and a piece commemorating her election to the Lexington Board of Education in 1996, she said.

“Her talent and her love of Mansfield at the time is the only reason that any of us have any of those beautiful pictures,” Judy said.

Beyond the brushstrokes

Pence remembers her mother as a jokester who appreciated a good prank.

Stahl often gave Pence and McKenna paints, paper and other supplies so they could explore their own artistic interests. Although Pence developed her own artistic style, growing up around her mother’s work helped shape her creative path, she said.

Stahl also encouraged McKenna’s interests. Pence said the two shared a special bond.

“He was their [Stahl and Burton] pride and joy,” Pence said. “They had little secret handshakes between them, secret little jokes and everything.”

Stahl’s health problems eventually limited her ability to paint. After her heart transplant, she continued to experience medical complications and spent time in the hospital over the past few months.

Her last known painting for Judy came in 2022, when she completed a piece depicting a family member’s home. Even then, she welcomed the opportunity to take on the project, Judy said.

While her mother’s health prevented her from continuing the work she loved, Pence said her paintings remain throughout the community.

“I will always continue to celebrate her work,” Pence said in a Facebook post. “More importantly, I will always acknowledge what a great grandmother she was to Caleb.”