My Biz: Marion artist’s gallery also a teaching space

MARION — Barbara Jones Prall can trace her 47-year career in art to a desire to fly.

'I started teaching art because I wanted a pilot's license,' she said. After getting the license, she would transport parts for her then-husband's business. But she continued doing art.

Prall taught art in the Central City school system until her husband became ill and she left to care for him.

Since 1999, she has taught students ranging in age from five to 93 at her Marion gallery. Before that, she rented locations or taught in people's homes in places such as Manchester, Cascade and Monticello.

'Sometimes I'd teach 20 students in a class, and I would teach three classes a day,' she said.

These days, she keeps her class size capped at 10 because of capacity restraints.

Her favorite thing to do is to paint portraits, and she has received wide acclaim for her work. Past commissions have included former Iowa First Lady Christie Vilsack and three Simpson College presidents.

Murals are another specialty. Prall recently painted one to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Hawkeye Area Council of Boy Scouts of America.

While portraits are Prall's strong suit, she also teaches and works with oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, graphite and silver point, as well as pen and ink.

She said she tries to teach her students to look at something and truly see it.

'You have to see it first,' she said. 'If you can't see it, you can't paint or draw it.'

Prall also said she has her students do a lot of upside down or backward drawings, as well as use a different hand than they normally would.

'If you're thinking about what you're drawing, you can't draw it,' she said, 'but if you think about what shape it is, then you'll be able to draw it, because you only think shape.'

In addition to teaching and doing commissioned work, Prall's gallery offers repair of antique pictures and frames, custom framing, and landscape, abstract, 3D wall art and sculpture work are available for sale.

Her newest creative venture is something she calls 'crazy art,' or recycled materials gone wild.

Prall recently turned her broken outdoor fountain into a curious piece of three-dimensional 'crazy art'.

'I just couldn't throw it away,' she said.

AT A GLANCE

• Owner: Barbara Jones Prall
• Business: Barb's Fine Art
• Address: 788 6th Street, Marion, IA
• Phone: (319) 373-1090
• Website: www.barbprall.com

l Know a company in business for more than a year that would make an ideal My Biz? Contact Francie Williamson at francie.williamson@thegazette.com