Meet Jessica Marshall | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jessica Marshall and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jessica, why did you pursue a creative career?

Originally, I didn’t! I left the University of Colorado Boulder in 2000 with a small glass business and a communications degree. Within two years, I chose a career path outside of creative endeavors and began making a series of life decisions that landed me in the fast lane of Boulder’s startup boom. I enjoyed and excelled at being a part of these diverse teams and small, scrappy businesses but with each choice to keep moving up the ‘not quite’ corporate ladder, I moved further away from what brought me joy and peace and hope and enthusiasm. The most important lesson my career taught me was that after nearly two decades, it wasn’t the path for me.

For dozens of reasons, the pandemic being only one, during 2021 I began upending every career choice I had made during those 20 years and on February 22, 2022 the Library of Marshall Arts was officially launched. Unlike the previous imagining of a career, it feels more like this one pursued me. It’s been chasing me since I was a child and I’ve finally given that child in me permission to live on, and to live with joy. Turns out, this has always been my path, it was just overgrown and untended for a while.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I do have a ‘day job’ that keeps me stable during this transition period. But I also create something, every single day, doodles, drawings, cards, small paintings, big paintings… something creative comes from my hand every day. That moves me a day closer to full time artist; more artwork created is more artwork to photograph, price, post to my shop, scan for future reproductions, etc… I try to submit something to an open call for art once a week so keeping my inventory straight, updated, and professionally available to share with galleries and shows. Add beekeeper, mom, wife, rebuilding our fire-destroyed cabin from 2020 and that’s 3 full time jobs! But I’m happier, more fulfilled and somehow less stressed than ever before!

I’m most proud that in a scant two years  I have grown my presence in the art communities of Colorado from Loveland to Denver. One display can be seen in the halls of Children’s Hospital of Colorado through May after hanging on the streets of Boulder in March as a part of a 50 piece exhibit rightfully titled JOYSOME organized by Dairy Arts Center of Boulder. That’s ASTOUNDING to me, But it shows me that this, THIS is right where I should be, finally. I’m in the ‘persevere’ phase of wins and losses; just as many acceptance letters as rejection. That means the majority of what keeps me busy is just that, busy; busy creating, busy sharing, busy trying and try, try again until I find the right gallery, the right audience, the collectors that share my aesthetic.

I paint bright, bold, colorful, Colorado. I grew up in Tennessee but time spent vacationing in the mountains of Colorado as a child proved transformative; Big sky! Clear water! Giant mountains! When I paint, it’s with an eye to the peaks, the light, the sky, the snow, wildflowers, fall leaves, the astounding array of colors and textures. I’m painting both the joy in the moment, and in gratitude for what being in the wilds of this land can do for your soul. I am my very best me in two places; outside and painting. My mind is quiet, my wonder leads, worry falls away, it’s the place I try to find in meditation and there it is right before me, outside that door or like the pigment shadow of a butterfly released from my hand, in paint.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh boy, that would totally depend on the time of year. In Spring we come out of hibernation and start to see people again after 3 seasons of being both out and indoors. Spring requires a lunch trip to Pearl Street in Boulder to see the tulips below the Flatirons and a swing through Artmart, R+Gallery before tea at the Dushanbe Tea house or Chataqua hike and an evening stroll through Old Town West Longmont after dinner at SugarBeets. Summer needs more altitude and fishing so we’d have to plan a camping trip in Rocky Mountain National Park for cooler air, the bluest skies, and river water sounds to put you to sleep. Fall would bring all the aspen color and a drive along the front range north from Longmont. We’d pack french style luncheon from Cheese Importers (an absolute must visit in Longmont) and drive 287 north and pick a dirt road to head west on. Fall is my favorite time of year to wander up and around each bend; what stand of trees already lost their best color but a litter further up it’s just glitter everywhere you look! Winter sporting is snowshoes; quiet crunching of snow and trickles of water running beneath and more glitter on sunlight on snow fields.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

The Longmont Artist Guild has been the best support system this year; there is so much I’ve gained from their kindness, friendship, guidance, resources, leadership and enthusiasm for the arts. I have actually been a silent member on and off for years while I toyed with the idea of actually being an artist and this year we seem to be breaking free of our old selves, simultaneously. New leadership, and longtime community guide this amazing amalgam of creatives in our mission to share our work with Colorado.

My husband and daughter deserve the most recognition. This year we will celebrate 22 years together; that’s a lot of life, support, love, compromise, cheering, and changing together. The two of them make me laugh the hardest, every single day while my daughter is the embodiment of living joy. She is the reason being an artist matters the most to me. How could I teach her to find what makes her heart sing if I couldn’t show her how? Because of her, I started taking all these steps towards a career in the arts.

Website: https://www.libraryofmarshallarts.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/libraryofmarshallarts/

Facebook: @libraryofmarshallarts