Barbra Mann Myers is a Virginia-based mixed media painter celebrated for her richly textured oil works that emerge organically through a process of layered surfaces. A native of Newport News, she studied at the Newark School of Fine Arts in New Jersey and later refined her practice under the mentorship of acclaimed artist and educator Barclay Sheaks, whose pioneering work in acrylics and commitment to teaching shaped her approach.
Before fully dedicating herself to fine art, Myers worked as an art director, illustrator, and set designer—roles that deepened her understanding of composition and visual storytelling. Today, her paintings are built through a meditative process of layering, varnishing, sanding, and burnishing. She allows shapes within the texture to guide her, creating skies, abstractions, or landscapes as they naturally unfold. “I try very hard to step back and see where the shapes fall… I never really know. That’s the joy of it all,” she reflects.
Over the course of more than 30 years, Myers’ work has been exhibited widely and commissioned by private collectors, including one original painting acquired by Oprah Winfrey. This is her first published collection.
