Painting and Loving in Small Town Missouri
Samantha Cox was just a few months into a new job when the COVID-19 pandemic began. Then she was furloughed. At home with no job to go to, she turned to an old comfort — painting.
She started by assisting a friend on a mural before taking on her own projects. A mural she painted along the main strip of Marshfield, Mo. drew attention her way, and she began to realize that her paint-splattered side hustle could become her career. When her former employer called to tell her the furlough was over, she politely said that she would not be returning. She is now a full-time muralist.
Samantha paints while looking after her other passion — her son Bowen, a rambunctious six-year-old that she currently homeschools. Long days at her paint sites mean long days away from him, although a tight and joyful embrace starts every evening when she gets back home.
This essay was photographed as part of the 72nd Missouri Photo Workshop, which has been creating an archive of small-town Missouri since 1949.