Marianne Nielsen

Marianne creates bold, expressive, organic abstract paintings with acrylic paint, markers, and ink. Staying loose, through the use of sponges, invokes a sense of movement within her work, inviting the eye to dance and move throughout the painting. Marianne turned to painting many years ago as a way to relieve the stresses of daily life, finding an outlet for expression. Painting in many layers, each layer adding to the story. Each layer is pushed, pulled, and blended to achieve a harmonious finish. Her ultimate goal is to create a dreamland full of emotion, with hints of representation that resonate with her audience, and allows them to find their own imaginative imagery and feeling. "I am influenced by the fluidity of the creative process, allowing music, my body and my environment to activate my senses. I often feel a clarity arise, as if a fog is being lifted and I become more present, grounded, and awakened. My paintings are an expression of my life's journey, mirroring my road from darkness to light reflected through the use of colour and the freedom of marks. While painting, I experience freedom in creative expression, a release of my inner critic, and each creation leads me further on my path towards gentleness and joy." Marianne lives in a small township outside of Ottawa, ON, painting from her home studio overlooking a forest. Her artwork can be found in private collections across Canada and North America, Europe, Australia and South Africa.