Teaching fellow artists has many rewards.  One reward is to meet an aspiring artist as a student and then be able to observe their artistic growth during class and outside of class.  One such student of mine is Marilyn Kooistra Marsh.

Marilyn came to my class one night as a guest, as her daughter, Caron Valentine-Marsh, was taking an oil painting class from me.  Marilyn was interested in that class' topic on portraiture.  She then enrolled in my following two classes.

After working 40 years as a social worker/researcher and librarian, Marilyn's retirement gave her time to explore art history and to take art classes.  She studied drawing at the Ann Arbor Art Center (www.annarborartcenter.org).  Marilyn studied watercolor with Barbara Starner and color theory/acrylics/experimental with Leslie Masters.  She then started using water mixable oil paints and exploring landscapes subjects/impressions from her travels to Europe and the US.

Marilyn is a member of the Ann Arbor Women Artists (www.annarborwomenartists.com).  In 2008, she had sixteen paintings shown at Gallery 55+ in Ann Arbor for three months.  Most recently, I had the pleasure to see her work at The Side Door Gallery (www.thesidedoorgallery.com) in Dexter, MI.  The May through June exhibit, "Generations Art Exhibit" has artwork from pairs of relatives, and Marilyn is sharing the wall space with her daughter, Caron.

Her artist's statement:  "A goal for my painting is to portray the beauty and sensuality of color, form, and texture through a variety of subjects and styles.  In landscape paintings 9"plein air" and from photos) I strive to portray a mood/emotional experience.  often I alter the actual colors in the landscapes and occasionally "convert" to an abstraction rather than a photographic image."

Marilyn is a "young" artist who is exploring all the delicious aspects of painting.  Her motifs and shapes are simple but solid, her color choices are vibrant and committed, and her compositions are balanced and playful.  Her joy in painting shows.  I'm looking forward to seeing more of her explorations.