About the Artist

Watercolor painter MARILYN SWIFT is an exhibiting artist member of The New England Watercolor Society, The Copley Society of Boston, Academic Artists Association of Springfield, American Artists Professional League, Hudson Valley Arts Association, Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society, Rockport Art Association, and the North Shore Arts Association. Her work has won many awards and is found in private and corporate collections in the Untied States as well as in Europe.

Marilyn was born in Connecticut, graduated with a BA degree from the College of New Rochelle in New York. Since 1974 she has lived and worked in Gloucester Massachusetts.

Most of Marilyn's inspiration comes from direct outdoor observation. In her painting she attempts to capture the essence of her subject, the captivating light, mood, or mystery -- like a passing glance that remains in memory, rather than laborious detail. Both the immediacy of watercolor as well as its illusive qualities combine to make watercolor Marilyn's preferred medium of expression. Yet, she also paints in oils and acrylics.

To stimulate her visual awareness, Marilyn travels often, both in the USA and abroad. In June of 2011 she painted on Nantucket Island, invited to be 'artist in residence' at The Century House. In July of 2010, she participated in the Door County Peninsula Plein Air week, Door County Wisconsin, as an invited artist. In 2008, she painted while traveling with her husband in the Umbria region of Italy. In 2003, she painted in Provence, France; and in 2001 worked during a month-long artist residency in Brittany at La Vignette. She has also painted in England, Italy, Ireland, and South Africa.

Her work was selected for publication in Best of Watercolor Volume 3, Watercolor Expressions, and Monhegan, The Artists Island. Her pen and ink drawings illustrate A Taste of Gloucester: The Fishermen's Wife's Cookbook and Rockport's Motif #1 Cookbook.

Her watercolors are in prestigious collections including: Boston Private Bank and Trust Company, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Borel Private Bank and Trust Company of California, and numerous private collections in the USA and abroad.

Marilyn is a popular teacher, juror, and demonstrator.

Marilyn Swift's work is currently represented by galleries on Cape Ann and in Maine. Her Gloucester Studio is open year round by chance or by appointment. Call 978-283-6319 or 978-314-4161.

Marilyn has been an award winning artist since 1967, when she won a prize in the very first professional show she entered, straight out of college.

AWARDS (partial listing of recent prizes)

2011		Muriel Davis Memorial Award, Rockport Art Association
2010		Award of Excellence, J Vallee Brulelle Fine Art juried show, Granby, CT
2010		Gold Medal, Connecticut Plein Air Painters Society Annual Juried Exhibition, E Hartford, CT
2010		Artists' Choice Award, Door County Peninsula Plein Air Festival, Peninsula School of Art, WI
2010		Joseph Santoro Memorial Award, Rockport Art Association
2010		Winsor & Newton Memorial Award, North Shore Arts Association
2010		Aldro Hibbard Memorial Award, North Shore Arts Association
2009		Marjorie Romyns Memorial Award, Rockport Art Association