Although she would be recognized as a pioneer of digital illustration, Stahl began her illustration career in 1971 working in
gouache, and developing a bold "poster style" which she credits as being influenced by
Ludwig Hohlwein, and more generally by the English railway and underground posters of
Edward McKnight Kauffer In the late 1980s, Stahl was invited by
Charlex (also known as CHRLX since 1998) to come in after hours to learn how to create digital art on their mainframe computers. Digital image manipulation was in its infancy at the time and the artist recalled that "you'd go back to this hazmat type of room—you know, those computer rooms where the guys would wear white and it was freezing cold—one huge room, full of tapes, and you'd load your tape". ==Digital work==