By Susan Larson
There were no art classes in the public schools Barbara Taylor Hall attended growing up on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Fortunately her mother, Frances Taylor, was an accomplished artist.
“Mother taught art in a very small school in another town, and she showed in galleries,” Hall said. Early on, mother told daughter that she had “the eye,” which meant a natural ability to compose.
“My mother did very traditional art, so she was a little surprised by my direction [with abstract impressionism], but always very supportive,” Hall said. “She died a couple of years ago at 95, and I miss showing her my art and discussing it with her.”
Hall is the March 2015 featured artist at Art First Gallery in downtown Fredericksburg. “Art, Distilled” will include 15 new works. “When you distill something, you boil it down to its essence – its most important part,” Hall said. “That’s my goal as I explore avenues that interest me, from the Kasbah in Tangier, to the Southwest with its vibrant colors, to the cool simplicity of oriental art.”
Hall works mainly on paper with acrylics. She likes the texture of paper, and the ability to cut it into different sizes and shapes. “Acrylic is my preferred medium, because it allows the impulsive changes necessary to my process,” she said.
That process has two steps. “The first step is the impulsive intuitive part, where I might pour paint, make random marks and see where it goes from there,” she said.
“The second step is the hard part. That’s the analytical.” Hall asks herself, “What have I got here? What does the painting want to become?” “That’s where I have to be brave. I have to take a chance, because taking a risk is how I get a good painting. If I play it safe the painting isn’t exciting for anybody. I like to surprise myself and surprise people.”
“The hardest thing for me is when people say, ‘Where do you get your ideas.’ It’s very intuitive. It’s hard to pin down.”
“I have discovered that I see one thing, and viewers see completely different things,” Hall said. “I love that, because I want my work to be a little bit mysterious. I want the viewer to be able to bring their life’s experience to it. I love to hear what people see.”
Art was Hall’s avocation before it became her vocation. She drew and painted on her own, but pursued other studies and careers. She earned a major in English and a minor in history from the College of Wooster, and a master’s degree in teaching from Northwestern. She taught, was assistant editor of a magazine and worked for ten years as a reference assistant at Central Rappahannock Regional Library Headquarters Branch in Fredericksburg.
It wasn’t until she moved with her husband to Blacksburg, Va., that she studied art. She credits her experience at Virginia Tech with getting her started as an artist.
“When my husband Phil went to Virginia Tech as a chemistry professor, I thought I’d love to take some courses,” Hall said. “That was where I saw art’s possibilities. I was exposed to a lot of different ways of doing art, and I was very influenced by the abstract impressionists — people like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Helen Frankenthaler. It just opened up the world to me. I did my share of the usual still life renditions and this kind of thing, but what was exciting to me was the personal expression.”
When they moved to Fredericksburg, Hall focused on juried exhibitions. “We’re so lucky here, because we have the opportunity to enter juried shows on a regular basis at Fredericksburg Center for the Creative Arts (FCCA) and LibertyTown Arts Workshop.”
“The thing I love most is entering juried shows,” Hall said. “Acceptance into a juried show is affirming, and it’s instructive to see your work hanging with the work of other accepted artists.”
Juried shows led to Hall’s proudest accomplishment. She has signature member status in the Virginia Watercolor Society, the Southern Region Watercolor Society and the National Watercolor Society. “That’s the holy grail for water-media artists” she said. There are just a few hundred signature members nationally.
Hall joined Art First Gallery, where she’s been a member for 20 years. She also shows her work at Stafford Hospital, Mary Washington Hospital, FCCA and LibertyTown Arts Workshop. “I’m always interested in places to show my work, and it’s always fun to show in places I haven’t been before,” she said.
“Art, Distilled” will be on display and for sale March 3 – 30 at Art First Gallery, 824 Caroline St., in Fredericksburg. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
A public opening reception is scheduled 6 – 9 p.m. on Friday, March 13, 2105.
Editor’s Note: This story was first published in the March 2015 edition of Front Porch Fredericksburg magazine. It is reprinted here with permission.
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10 Featured Artists of 2014
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