[The Artist]

March Artist of the Month: Marcia Litchfield

"In like a lamb, out like a lion," is an expression used to describe the month of March. But it also applies to the life story of one local artist featured in downtown Ashland’s Village Artists & Gallery this month. Artist of the Month at the Ashland Village Artists & Gallery is Marcia Litchfield. A Plymouth resident since 1995, Litchfield took no ordinary route to get here. She began studying art in 1969 under a prominent Italian painter in Venice. Oil painting was her focus then. While living in Italy, she visited all the major art museums in Europe and learned by seeing. Litchfield returned to the US and continued her education in pastels, charcoal, acrylic, and watercolor, which would come in handy during her next globe-trot. In 1974, Litchfield moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with an infant in one hand and her watercolor palette in the other. Painting was both her passion and comfort in this restrictive and challenging new place. She says of those years, "There was very little available that was familiar and no connections to the outside world...I found peace and awareness in painting." She learned Arabic and grew a circle of local friends. Her talent soon became an oasis for local art-lovers as well. Many Saudis began buying Litchfield's paintings and commissioning her to do more. Upon returning to the United States, Litchfield continued studying art at The DeCordova Art Museum School and River College. She joined the Nashua Art Association and volunteered at the Brush Gallery in Lowell, Massachusetts. She continued her work in watercolors and exhibited her own work, enjoying awards and sales. Of her own work, Litchfield says, "I want to strike an emotional cord in a person or trigger a childhood memory or just make someone feel something." She feels most influenced by Renoir, Mary Cassatt, and Norman Rockwell because of their ability to evoke emotions through depicting daily life scenes. Litchfield moved to Plymouth in 1995 with her husband, Craig Zamzow, who teaches Business Administration at Plymouth State College. She and her husband own and operate the Pilgrim Inn. Litchfield relishes painting now simply for the joy of creating. Litchfield has donated several paintings to the Main Street Plymouth initiatives and Chamber of Commerce advertisements. Litchfield also produces a greeting card line under the name "Little Nooks Images" on 5x7 white watercolor papers. These are available for any occasion at the Village Artists & Gallery in Ashland and at other venues throughout the state. So come enjoy Marcia Litchfield’s work this month and beyond at Village Artists & Gallery in Ashland and keep an eye out for upcoming artists of the month.