BIOGRAPHY
Butchart's Begonias, watercolour, SOLD
Marney has been interested in perception, consciousness and creativity for most of her life. In the seventies, she earned a PhD from the University of British Columbia on the art and poetry of William Blake. Her Blake-inspired interest in consciousness led her to study with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Europe, and then to devote a decade to teaching Transcendental Meditation. In the early nineties, with her youngest child in school, she decided to revisit her first passion, art. From classes in Chinese Brush Painting she learned practical techniques of brushwork and how to take advantage of the peculiar challenges and magical properties of water. From her lifelong mentor Emily Carr, she was inspired to express the living spirit within everything she paints.
Marney studied with watercolour artists Caren Heine, Ann Hunter, Sheena Lott, Brent Heighton, Kiff Holland, Allan Bruce, Elizabeth Kincaid, and many others. She learned from each but went on to develop her own unique style: large, vibrant, often back-lit close-ups that reveal not only the minute particulars of each flower but also her own emotional and spiritual connection to that flower. Marney has taught watercolour classes for over 30 years, first through Camosun College and Artworld, and then through her own home. In 2014 she developed an online 8-week course in floral watercolours, which enables her to reach artists around the world. Her students have included artists from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East, India and Asia.
In 2000, Marney was granted Associate Signature Status, AFCA, with the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA). In 2011, she was granted Senior Signature Status, SFCA, the highest ranking possible with the FCA. Marney is a Past President of the Victoria Chapter of the FCA and has served as juror for a number of shows in Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver. In 2015, Marney was juried into elected membership with the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA). This organization is based in Toronto, but has members and exhibitions across Canada. Marney was pleased to win major awards in their Annual Exhibitions in 2015, 2016 and 2018, two of which were held in Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Altogether, Marney has won over 20 awards in various juried exhibitions in Canada, including the prestigious Annual International Representational Show (AIRS) at Federation Gallery in Vancouver. Most notably, in October 2015, her painting Butchart's Begonias won the "Best Work on Paper or Under Glass" in the Sidney Fine Art Show on Vancouver Island, a major exhibition which featured almost 400 juried paintings. For many years Marney was a regular, invited participant in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's annual July Paint-In and was represented in their Art Rental program.
In the February, 2025 issue of Pratique des Arts, a French magazine, Marney is one of three international artists featured in a major article titled "Masters of Light." Her work graces the cover of the May/June 2019 edition of Watercolor Artist, which devotes 8 pages to a feature on her work, titled "A Meditation in Light." The Australian magazine Creative Artist had a major, 12-page article on her, including 28 colour images, in 2015. She has twice been featured in International Artist and her paintings have been chosen for the cover of Focus and Art Avenue magazines. Marney is very excited to have been included twice in the outstanding series of Splash books, The Best of Watercolor, Splash 17 (2016) and Splash 22 (2021), featuring some of the best watercolour artists in the world. Marney is in about 10 other books, including Artists of British Columbia, Volume III; Coastal Moments, The Island Illustrators Society; and multiple volumes of Richeson75 International Art Competition: Still Life and Floral, 2016- 2023.
Marney has had two solo exhibitions with Winchester Galleries in Victoria, BC (see second video below) and represented them as a guest artist with a third exhibition at The Oak Bay Beach Hotel. She also had a large solo exhibition at The Old School House Art Centre in Qualicum Beach in Summer 2014. Her most recent solo exhibition was in Spring 2019 at Chapel Gallery, Victoria, see first video below.
Marney studied with watercolour artists Caren Heine, Ann Hunter, Sheena Lott, Brent Heighton, Kiff Holland, Allan Bruce, Elizabeth Kincaid, and many others. She learned from each but went on to develop her own unique style: large, vibrant, often back-lit close-ups that reveal not only the minute particulars of each flower but also her own emotional and spiritual connection to that flower. Marney has taught watercolour classes for over 30 years, first through Camosun College and Artworld, and then through her own home. In 2014 she developed an online 8-week course in floral watercolours, which enables her to reach artists around the world. Her students have included artists from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, the Middle East, India and Asia.
In 2000, Marney was granted Associate Signature Status, AFCA, with the Federation of Canadian Artists (FCA). In 2011, she was granted Senior Signature Status, SFCA, the highest ranking possible with the FCA. Marney is a Past President of the Victoria Chapter of the FCA and has served as juror for a number of shows in Victoria, Nanaimo and Vancouver. In 2015, Marney was juried into elected membership with the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA). This organization is based in Toronto, but has members and exhibitions across Canada. Marney was pleased to win major awards in their Annual Exhibitions in 2015, 2016 and 2018, two of which were held in Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Altogether, Marney has won over 20 awards in various juried exhibitions in Canada, including the prestigious Annual International Representational Show (AIRS) at Federation Gallery in Vancouver. Most notably, in October 2015, her painting Butchart's Begonias won the "Best Work on Paper or Under Glass" in the Sidney Fine Art Show on Vancouver Island, a major exhibition which featured almost 400 juried paintings. For many years Marney was a regular, invited participant in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's annual July Paint-In and was represented in their Art Rental program.
In the February, 2025 issue of Pratique des Arts, a French magazine, Marney is one of three international artists featured in a major article titled "Masters of Light." Her work graces the cover of the May/June 2019 edition of Watercolor Artist, which devotes 8 pages to a feature on her work, titled "A Meditation in Light." The Australian magazine Creative Artist had a major, 12-page article on her, including 28 colour images, in 2015. She has twice been featured in International Artist and her paintings have been chosen for the cover of Focus and Art Avenue magazines. Marney is very excited to have been included twice in the outstanding series of Splash books, The Best of Watercolor, Splash 17 (2016) and Splash 22 (2021), featuring some of the best watercolour artists in the world. Marney is in about 10 other books, including Artists of British Columbia, Volume III; Coastal Moments, The Island Illustrators Society; and multiple volumes of Richeson75 International Art Competition: Still Life and Floral, 2016- 2023.
Marney has had two solo exhibitions with Winchester Galleries in Victoria, BC (see second video below) and represented them as a guest artist with a third exhibition at The Oak Bay Beach Hotel. She also had a large solo exhibition at The Old School House Art Centre in Qualicum Beach in Summer 2014. Her most recent solo exhibition was in Spring 2019 at Chapel Gallery, Victoria, see first video below.
© 2025 Marney Ward - Artist. All rights reserved.