Contributed by Charice Chambers
Jill Marshall came to Alaska in 1975 for a 3-month stay that has never ended. Her artwork blends her love of Alaska with the wildness of Alaska’s people and places. These themes are woven into all of her designs.
Marshall started her graphic design firm, Marshall Arts Design, nearly 30 years ago in Fairbanks, Alaska. At that time, much of her work was done by hand; today, it’s all electronic. As time progressed, Marshall realized that she missed the hands-on feel of her early days in art. In an effort to recapture that approach to her art, she created a line of watercolor nature cards. The designs featured many iconic Alaskan animals, including bear, caribou, moose and wolf. She also rendered many of Alaska’s native birds with great success including cranes, owls and eagles. Most were watercolor creations.
Watercolor has always been Marshall’s favorite medium. She uses a unique layering approach to her paintings called glazing. It features laying wet color over dry. Often four to six layers thick, the method builds unique hues with great intensity, richness and depth.
She is so invested in watercolor, that she offers two classes that take the beginner from blank canvas to the pride of a successful finished product. The single-session 3-hour class includes a glass of wine to enhance both creativity and fun for the participants. Her 2-day sessions feature much larger canvases with more complex watercolor techniques. With a smile, she describes her instruction as equal opportunity ridicule with lots of laughter and lots of learning. Many of her students have gone on to become outstanding watercolor painters.
Several years ago, Marshall came up with a new idea, which was wild and whimsical. It featured a style that combined the drawing she missed with the computer work she knows so well. Her “Wild Women” series was born! The funny thing is, Marshall is not very wild herself. “I think I’m channeling for the ghost of a wild woman,” she says, “The ideas just keep coming to me, even in the middle of the night!”
Featuring a cartoon style appearance, the wild women are seen in carharts, pearls and tiaras - on special occasions, as they urge others to be wild women, too. Other Wild Women cards attest to the fact that Alaskan wild women are fresher than farmed, love wild and mild men, and wear white after Labor Day. In short, they are fun, fresh and funny.
Marshall’s designs have been wildly popular, (pun intended). Within Alaska, she has sold over 45,000 cards featuring her designs, a fact of which she is quite proud.
Marshall lives in Fairbanks with her husband Charlie, McMahon, and kitties, Annie and Leo. Their son, Josh, resides in Anchorage.
Her designs may be found at the Mat-Su Senior Center Gift Shop, 1132 South Chugach Street, across the street from and adjacent to Palmer Junior Middle School. Open Monday through Friday, from 10am to 2pm, the shop features art, crafts and gifts at prices seniors can afford and the community appreciates.
