Marilyn Rose holds a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis. She established herself as an award-winning graphic designer before she discovered her passion as a watercolor artist. Her elected memberships include the Catharine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, Northeast Watercolor Club, New Jersey Watercolor Club, and Garden State Watercolor Club. She has been juried into and won prizes in many plein air events including Plein Air Easton, Paint Annapolis, Wayne (PA) Plein Air, and Plein Air Vermont. Her work has appeared in Plein Air Magazine and was selected as an artist in residence in Bryant Park in NYC. Her work is in many private and corporate art collections.


I think of watercolor as the intersection of craft and magic, and it is the magic which fascinates me. As much as my life informs my art, the medium of watercolor has informed my life. It has taught me to cede control to the flow of the pigment and water, allowing it to take me on a journey, often leaving preconceptions behind.
While my work takes the world around me as it’s subject matter (be it urban, landscape, or portrait) my work is really about edges; the places where things meet: paint and paper; light and shadow; reality and abstraction. My work takes a traditional medium, and pushes its boundaries, with a boldness and exuberance which I invite the viewer to share.