Young artist from Kirksville gets noticed in Kansas City

When kindergarten-age Sarah Barton would bring her latest “artwork” to her parents in northeast Missouri more than a decade ago, they would smile and say. “Sarah, this is REALLY good.”

Certainly, most parents would respond the same way, but Sarah’s parents genuinely meant it.

They could perceive a certain style to it; a discernible quality.  

Growing up in Mary Immaculate Parish in Kirksville, Sarah attended Mary Immaculate School and continued her love of drawing.

With her family having moved to Kansas City in 2020, Sarah is now a 17-year-old established artist, whose work has drawn accolades from both secular and Catholic audiences.

 Sarah’s impressive classical art has recently been featured at the Englewood Art Center in Independence and has been displayed at various art venues throughout Kansas City.

That’s quite an accomplishment for someone of her tender years.

She is also an active participant in the Kansas City Artists Coalition.

Her impressive oil paintings are being recognized in the Catholic world.

Her work was the subject of an article in the spring edition of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph’s magazine, The Catholic Key.

Unusual for a young artist in this modern culture, Sarah creates oil paintings in the traditional classical style, characterized by realistic portrayals of people.

The foundational component of her portfolio is Catholic art.

And, in spite of her emphasis on the “Catholic” in our culture, her artwork has been warmly received by the secular KC art world.

What might be most impressive about Sarah’s talent is that she is completely self-taught.

“I’ve been drawing since I was little — but I think all kids like to draw,” said Sarah. “It was nothing special.”

She started taking it seriously when she was 12.

“The more I do it, the more I love it,” she said.

Sarah is partial to painting women and children, and with five little sisters, there is never a shortage of subjects.

“They look very peaceful in paintings, but they aren’t in real life!” she said.

Sarah’s home life also inspires her Catholic art projects.

“We’re (very) Catholic, and our house is filled with religious art,” she said.

So committed is she to her Catholic art craft, Sarah recently spent several days in the St. Louis archdiocese studying with Gwyneth Thompson-Briggs, a renowned contemporary sacred artist whose work can be found in Catholic churches, schools and private homes throughout the Americas and Europe.

Mrs. Thompson-Briggs’s murals adorn the baptistery in the Cathedral of St. Joseph in Jefferson City, and her rendering of St. Joseph was cast into a bronze relief above the entrance.

“I learned a lot about the sharpness in painting and when to make lines crisp and blurry,” Sarah recalled of her visit with Mrs. Thompson-Briggs. “The human eye can’t process a lot of sharp lines at once.”

Sarah’s father, now a chemistry instructor in the Raytown School District added: “Of course it’s the job of any father to talk-up the talents of his children but, in this case, the craftsmanship of her work speaks entirely for itself.

“It is truly astonishing, especially considering that her mother and I lack the slightest measure of artistic talent!” he said.

Sarah is actively speaking and visiting with representatives of a number of art colleges as she plans her future.