Marianne Graff
The PebbleCreek Art Club takes great pleasure in awarding Marion Ellison Artist of the Month for February 2018. Her body of work is substantial and includes art pieces of various mediums that are exciting to view and appreciate for all their mastery and creativity.
Marion was born and raised in the Chicago area. She worked for a senator in Washington, DC and then for American Airlines at O’Hare in Chicago. After marrying in 1965, she and her husband, Dave, moved to Colorado Springs and there she shared her lifelong interest in arts and crafts with her two children as they were growing up. Later, as an empty nester, Marion took classes in oils and watercolor from various instructors.
Over the years Marion shared with Dave a passion for traveling. In 1975, they put all their belongings in storage and toured by camper across the western United States and Canada. In addition, they journeyed to Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and the Baltics where Marion recorded their adventures through photography. Her artwork has been greatly inspired by the landscapes, statuary, and architecture she encountered on these trips, and by the wonders she found in the textures of rooftop tiles and the colors in various marbles.
After Dave passed away, Marion moved in 2005 to PebbleCreek and was impressed by the beauty of the landscape and florals of the Arizona desert that inspired a number of her paintings. She continued to pursue her love of art and sharing her discoveries and enthusiasm with her two grandchildren.
Although Marion is on the whole a self-taught artist, she has taken several classes at PebbleCreek and especially enjoyed studying watercolor with Joye Moon whose book, Exploring Textures: A Hands on Approach to Watercolor, still serves as a valued resource. Marion also reads art publications and views demonstrations on youtube as she strives to overcome the unique challenges of new mediums. Marion has completed works in colored pencil, pastel, zentangle, pen and ink, scratchboard, as well as watercolor. She has also learned photography and jewelry making and has experimented with realistic as well as abstract styles. In fact, all her works are a testament to her wide-ranging curiosity and creativity—full of wonderful colors, clever design and imaginative renderings of her subjects. Recently, Marion has found a new passion in painting with alcohol inks and is currently creating art works in that medium. Her efforts were on display last December at the Art Fair where Marion sold several pieces.
You are invited to see a sampling of Marion’s work at the Creative Arts Center including a work inspired by Greek and Roman statuary called, Venus Zentangled and one inspired by Van Gogh called That Starry Night. Other paintings are on display at both the Eagle’s Nest and Tuscany clubhouses.