Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery is very pleased to announce that Rochelle Marshall has been selected as one of the four winning artists of the gallery’s recent 12th “Solo Art Series” Art Competition. Rochelle will now have a month-long solo art exhibition and she will be featured on the gallery’s front page, in the Gallery’s YouTube Channel, as well as in the “Solo Art Series” archive.
Rochelle Marshall is a Digital Artist and Photographer living in Nelson, New Zealand. Rochelle will now be promoted by the gallery with an extensive public relations campaign.
This solo exhibition will distribute, promote and circulate press releases to over 550+ major News Outlets, Premium FOX, CBS, NBC, Affiliated Sites, Guaranteed inclusion on Google News & Bing News and social media distribution through LST gallery’s broad social media network.
In addition, as part of her award package, Rochelle will now be featured as a Light Space & Time – Artwork Archive promoted artist.
Rochelle’s art will also be featured on the gallery’s YouTube Channel and with an event postcard.
The “Solo Art Series” is a series of monthly solo art exhibitions for established artists who have a body of work to present to the public. Artist participants were asked to submit the following 3 components for the “Solo Art Series” competition: 1. Their art. 2. Their artist biography. 3. Their artist statement. These elements were evaluated and judged, which resulted in the selection of the artists who will be featured in individual month-long solo art exhibitions. This was the 12th “Solo Art Series” Art Competition that the gallery has conducted.
Below is Rochelle’s Artist Biography, her Artist Statement, along with 10 of her photographs.
Artist Biography
Rochelle Marshall is a Digital Artist and Photographer living in Nelson, New Zealand. Her journey into photography started in 2016 when she purchased her first DSLR, determined to capture close friend and companion; her beloved dog Sapphire. After completing a pet photography workshop in April 2016, her passion ignited. As Rochelle's confidence and skills grew, so did the importance of Photoshop; following her passion for photographic artwork she joined a Photoshop Artistry class to hone her skills and vision. Slowly moving away from pet photography, Rochelle identifies herself as both an artist and a photographer.
Inspired by artists such as Robert Cornelius, Brooke Shaden and Caroline Julia Moore, Rochelle aims to combine Digital Art and Photography in a unique style that is recognizable as her work. Rochelle uses her love of nature and animals to carry the message of vulnerability, fear and environment as well as empowerment using the female figure to capture these stories. Rochelle's work is regularly featured in Artists Down Under Australia & New Zealand and has received honorable mentions in several juried competitions
Artist Statement
The seeds for my love of all things nature were planted and cultivated at a young age, and I believe this is where my foundation for Photography and Photographic artistry stems from. Growing up I was surrounded by a cornucopia of inspiration; from an early age, art was an integral part of my life: pencil and paper constantly in hand, Christmases an artistic feast of felt tip pens, puzzles and colouring in books. Nodding off at night listening to Little Golden Book cassette tapes, reading dark fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, movies such as ‘The Dark Crystal’, ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘The Princess Bride’ provided endless fascination, and a sense of escapism. When not escaping through books and movies, my younger sisters and I spent our time enjoying nature and the company of a myriad of creatures ranging from exotic parrots to guinea pigs and everything in between. Free from the tethers of modern technology to say we were fortunate as children is an understatement.
The most powerful influence on my artistic life has been my faithful best friend and muse, Sapphire the Dobermann. Capturing photographs of her opened my eyes to an entirely new reality. Sadly, she lost her battle with age-related disease recently, but her influence will be felt eternally. Through the use of Photography and Artistry, my fantastical artistic life takes shape, I love that I can take elements of our natural world and craft them into something believable, or not, real but yet fantastical. I am at heart a dreamer. Not all of my pieces feature my own photography. Living a fantasy world, I am yet to find an actual real dragon to photograph; however, I take pride in sourcing the highest quality paid content for bodies of work I cannot photograph. For this reason, I have several paid memberships to model and stock sites, ensuring all of my work is completely my own to sell.
I love immersing myself in the best nature has to offer. Birds are a major drawcard and I feel the incessant pull of the ocean’s waters. Most weekends you will find me around one stretch of water or another, the local Estuary, the River or the Beach, camera in hand. Little details most of us miss in the daily humdrum of life often spark ideas for a body of work such as Butterflies, Bees or Wading birds. My camera provides an escape from life in general; it allows me to see everyday snippets of life viewed through my own unique perspective. A photograph is our own personal time portal, giving us the ability to freeze that one moment, never to be repeated the same way ever again. All of my greatest and most treasured possessions are photographs. Many photographic pieces I have created hold great meaning and emotion. This body of work is testament to that as it holds particular importance to me. Portraying the struggle women encounter between conflicting expectations of society. It is no exaggeration to say a little piece of me goes into every piece I create.
Rochelle’s website is: www.darksapphirephotography.com
