Marleen Merchant
Marleen wasn’t always an artist, but she has always had the desire to create. She never really was far away, just not there yet, doodles in notebooks, illustrated lab notes as she followed her career path with her MS in biological sciences into research and teaching. For many years that creativity came out in original handcrafts, the garden or cooking. A watercolor workshop with a friend opened up the world of painting. All sorts of ideas came to mind, journaling on travels, painting for friends and family, never dreaming that she could be a “real” artist. She started with watercolor classes, has mentors in the local Sacramento artist community and further augmented her studies with workshops from nationally recognized watercolor artists. Painting for her is an expression of a memory, a feeling, a moment captured and shared.
She tries to be true to the natural world but evoke emotion, motion or something tangible for the viewer. She paints, journals and sketches plein air, which become her subjects for studio composition. It really is quite enlightening when friends and family give you accolades, but after successfully doing a juried show, she really had begun the journey as an artist. She hopes you agree and will want to give her creations a new home to share with your family and friends.
