#StreetStories

Artist Spotlight – Maria Barnes – Colchester

Maria Barnes, artist and musician, was one of the contributors to the Street Stories Colchester project. 7 units were selected by Our Colchester, so Maria joined a handful of skilled artists chosen to be a part of the art trail. She painted Colchester’s own Damon Albarn as her piece, who she chose to immortalise on canvas. 

Artist Maria Barnes stands alongside her Street Stories Colchester artwork featuring Damon Albarn

Maria’s body of work includes other musical icons, landscapes and fan art for popular franchises such as Star Wars. She’s a multimedia artist who specialises in oil painting. Maria is part of exhibitions and pop up shops all over the East Anglia region. She accepts commissions and has original works, prints and other printed materials available in her online store.

Maria Barnes and Damon Albarn

Maria has been a long-time fan of Damon Albarn throughout his musical career. She even used to busk in the streets of Colchester and play his songs, including Beetlebum. There’s definitely something poetic about a Colchester native singing the songs of a local hero in his hometown.

Despite his success, Damon has retained his ties with the city of Colchester. He acquired the sign of a the local Axe Music shop after the store closed and has played many gigs in Colchester over the years. 

Find out more about Maria and her work at marialouiseartworks.com. Discover more about all seven artists who were chosen for the Colchester interactive art trail.

If you’re an artist and think your city or town’s high street could use a boost from fantastic artwork like Maria’s, we would love to hear from you. Get in touch or follow us on social media. You’ll be the first to know if we open submissions for your town. And if you support the project, the coverage could snowball into your city joining the Street Stories movement across the UK.