Twenty-five years ago, when Marilynne Roland began her experimentation in art, she intended for it to be a hobby. It became a profession. Roland spent most of her life working in newspaper advertising in Chicago. She created her first artistic projects to accompany the written copy she generated for her clients. She worked with newspaper staff artists on the layouts for advertisements. It wasn’t long, however, before Roland was overcome with a need to paint. "It was such a joy to do," she says, "when you enter the creative field, it is such a turn on. You enter another world."

Roland is truly experimental in her approach to art, always looking for another way to make an image. "I started in oil, then went to acrylics, then watercolors, then mixed media, which is more experimental. I put my paint not only on paper, but on illustration board. I paint semi-abstractly; no subject is safe with me. I concentrate on contemporary designs with realistic subjects."

When asked if she is satisfied with her art, Roland responds philosophically, "If you have your goals ahead of you, you never truly paint a good painting. You are never truly satisfied. Each painting is a link to the next painting. You can’t fall in love with your own work, or you never grow. Each painting is as good as you can do at that moment."

[artist biography by Sydney Pettus; artist photograph by Amy Wertzler]
Marilynne Roland
Potluck, 2000, watercolor and acrylic on illustration board