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 20 years, previously through Camosun College and Artworld, and more recently 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 so far include artists from Canada, the USA, Europe (England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Latvia), Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Myanmar.
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 First Award of Excellence in their Annual Elected Members Exhibition in Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary, Alberta, Canada in June 2018. She also won Awards of Excellence in their 47th Open National Juried Exhibition, also in Gainsborough Galleries, in 2015, and in their 2016 online exhibition. Altogether, Marney has won over 20 awards in various juried exhibitions in Canada, including the Annual International Representational Show (AIRS) 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. In 2016, Marney was part of the juried Victoria Art Now show at the Atrium downtown, and two exhibitions celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the FCA, one in Victoria, and also the National FCA 75th Anniversary Show in Vancouver. For many years Marney was a regular, invited participant in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's annual July Paint-In and is currently represented in their Art Rental program.
The May/June 2019 edition of Watercolor Artist devotes 8 pages to a major feature on Marney's work, titled A Meditation in Light. She has twice been featured in International Artist and her paintings have graced the front cover of Focus and Art Avenue magazines. She has also been featured in the French magazine Pratique des Arts and recently had a major, 12-page article, including 28 colour images, in the Australian magazine Creative Artist. She is very excited to have been featured in the book Splash 17: The Best of Watercolor, featuring some of the best watercolour artists in the world and Splash 22, published in Summer 2021. Marney is in seven other books: Artists of British Columbia Volume III, Coastal Moments, The Island Illustrators Society, and Richeson75 International Art Competition: Still Life and Floral, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
Marney has had two solo exhibitions with Winchester Galleries in Victoria, BC (see second video below) and represented them as guest artist 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. Most recently she had a very successful solo exhibition in Spring 2019 at Chapel Gallery, Victoria, see first video below. Marney is represented by The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Art Rentals, the world-renowned Butchart Gardens, and Federation Gallery in Vancouver, BC.
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 20 years, previously through Camosun College and Artworld, and more recently 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 so far include artists from Canada, the USA, Europe (England, Ireland, Scotland, Belgium, Germany, Norway, Latvia), Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan and Myanmar.
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 First Award of Excellence in their Annual Elected Members Exhibition in Gainsborough Galleries, Calgary, Alberta, Canada in June 2018. She also won Awards of Excellence in their 47th Open National Juried Exhibition, also in Gainsborough Galleries, in 2015, and in their 2016 online exhibition. Altogether, Marney has won over 20 awards in various juried exhibitions in Canada, including the Annual International Representational Show (AIRS) 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. In 2016, Marney was part of the juried Victoria Art Now show at the Atrium downtown, and two exhibitions celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the FCA, one in Victoria, and also the National FCA 75th Anniversary Show in Vancouver. For many years Marney was a regular, invited participant in the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria's annual July Paint-In and is currently represented in their Art Rental program.
The May/June 2019 edition of Watercolor Artist devotes 8 pages to a major feature on Marney's work, titled A Meditation in Light. She has twice been featured in International Artist and her paintings have graced the front cover of Focus and Art Avenue magazines. She has also been featured in the French magazine Pratique des Arts and recently had a major, 12-page article, including 28 colour images, in the Australian magazine Creative Artist. She is very excited to have been featured in the book Splash 17: The Best of Watercolor, featuring some of the best watercolour artists in the world and Splash 22, published in Summer 2021. Marney is in seven other books: Artists of British Columbia Volume III, Coastal Moments, The Island Illustrators Society, and Richeson75 International Art Competition: Still Life and Floral, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023.
Marney has had two solo exhibitions with Winchester Galleries in Victoria, BC (see second video below) and represented them as guest artist 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. Most recently she had a very successful solo exhibition in Spring 2019 at Chapel Gallery, Victoria, see first video below. Marney is represented by The Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Art Rentals, the world-renowned Butchart Gardens, and Federation Gallery in Vancouver, BC.
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