William Barstow was born in Vermont and came to Alaska with his family in 1976 when he was 10 years old. A sometimes carpenter and commercial fisherman who currently makes his home in Talkeetna, Barstow is a former Junior Olympic skier, mountain climber, and river guide. In 1988 he received  a B.A. in Spanish from Middlebury College and in 1995 he completed an M.F.A. in painting from Savannah College of Art and Design.  He taught art for several years at Mat-Su College. Inspired early on by his artistic grandmother, Barstow has painted in a variety of media on an equally varied choice of surfaces and focuses largely on landscape. In 2003 he created an 16’ x 8’ multimedia relief for the Sunshine Community Health Center in Talkeetna based on a salmon spawning stream and its variety of piscine inhabitants. The visually active piece can be seen be seen in the reception room.