Marie is an award-winning artist, having been a signature member of the Pastel Society of America since 1989, and becoming a Master Circle Honoree with the International Association of Pastel Societies in 2021. She has exhibited in numerous local, national and international shows receiving several "Best of Show" awards for her work including the Oklahoma Art Workshops 11th Annual National Juried Exhibition. Other awards include the Steven Leitner Award during the Pastel Society of America's 19th Annual Exhibition in New York City, and First Award of Excellence during the Pastel Society of the Southwest's 11th Annual Exhibition in Dallas, Texas. Her work has been included in the 13th, 36th,37th, 38th and 39th Juried Exhibitions of the International Association of Pastel Societies, in 2009, 2020 and 2021 respectively. In 2020 her work was included in the MidAmerica Pastel Society National Exhibition, and in 2021 the Pastel Society of Southern California International Online Open Exhibition, and the Pastel Society of New Mexico 29th National Pastel Exhibition. Marie’s work has been published in The Best of Pastel and The Best of Pastel 2, by Rockport Publishers, The Pastel Journal(May/June 2000), and Who’s Who in American Art and Who’s Who in the South and Southwest. Her work was featured on two CD covers by Edgar Cruz, Opening Night, and Opening Night 2. Marie has taught as an adjunct professor, Drawing 1, at Southern Nazarene University, and has taught several adult pastel workshops. Having been represented by several galleries, she has placed her work in numerous collections, private, corporate and public. Marie was born in Akron, Ohio and moved with her family to southern Oklahoma as a small child. Her mother, noticing Marie’s love for drawing, kept her supplied with the tools she needed to keep pursuing her talent and beginning in elementary school Marie started winning awards for her art. She earned her degree in commercial art in 1982 from the University of Central Oklahoma. After several years of working as a graphic artist, she gradually found her way to full-time painting and drawing. Working in oils, pastels, or drawing mediums, Marie’s subjects consist primarily of still life, portraits and the occasional landscape. In her work, she is challenged to enable the viewer to appreciate the beauty that surrounds our everyday lives. "Music and the natural world is my inspiration. Working in a realist style, whether it's a landscape, tablescape or portrait, I'm looking for the extraordinary in the ordinary. I enjoy working life size or larger than life. I’m interested in helping those who view my work to absorb the energy and beauty that surrounds our everyday lives." MKW