by Barbara Marshall
This COVID-19 Stay-at-Home Order in the St. Louis metro area has sent me and many of my neighbors on long walks to escape the confines of home, to get away from a little too much togetherness with children or a loved one, or just to get a breath of fresh air. On our walks we anticipate meeting a friend or a neighbor who is also on a long walk.
Humans are not meant to be isolated. As social creatures we need conversation. We need the occasional handshake, the occasional hug. We artists need to show others our work, but for now, we walk and we stick to the middle of the road.
This virus has encouraged me and many of my artist friends to escape into our studios to paint, sculpt, draw or dive into whatever our artistic release currently is. Although many of us have recently experienced cancelled exhibitions and a drop-off in sales, we escape into our studios hopeful that the end is near.
My art takes me in two different directions: pastel painting of beloved pets for clients across the country and my TarArt photography.
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| Barbara Marshall. Moses. 2019. Pastel on Sanded Paper, 18”x22”. Commissioned artwork. |
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| Barbara Marshall. A Lovely Beard. 2018. Pastel on Sanded Paper, 12”x14”. Commissioned artwork. |
My TarArt photography takes me to both the street and my studio. I fell in love with photography in college long before I discovered the strange worlds and images in the tar on my daily walks. Now, I hurry back to my studio to crop, add small touches of color or ink in order to enhance what I see in the tar. It was ten years ago when while on a walk that I looked down and saw Snoopy and Woodstock in tar on the street. That was the beginning of my fascination with the possibilities of what I might find out there.
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| Barbara Marshall. Migration. 2019. Photograph on Paper, 14”x16”. |
Last Fall I was selected for the 2019-2020 Saint Louis Art Fair Emerging Artists as Entrepreneurs program, a 2-year program that provides artists with professional art fair experience. As part of the second year of the program, in Fall 2020 I will be a featured artist for the “Saint Louis Art Fair.” The dream of a successful exhibit as well as future gallery exhibits encourages me to hit the street to escape into my TarArt world. Of course, I stay in the middle of the road.
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| Barbara Marshall. Little Bird. 2019. Photograph on Metal, 14”x16”. |
Artist Barbara G. Marshall in a retired United States Air Force MSgt (Master Sergeant) and lives in Chesterfield, Missouri. Her TarArt photography has been featured in exhibits and art fairs around the region. She will exhibit her photography in the 2020 “Saint Louis Art Fair” in downtown Clayton, MO (September). Marshall is past President of the St Charles County Arts Council and a long-time member of Art Saint Louis.
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