My Story

 

Hi – my name is Marianne – many call me Mi – and welcome to Colours on Grey.

I run a small artistic business from my website and studio set in rural NSW, Australia .

I am first and foremost a painter creating colourful abstract and modern paintings from which I also makes prints and cards. However, my enjoyment of  working with paper and fabric and incorporating different textures into my works has led me into creations of versatility  – including collages and ceramics.

I grew up in Denmark spending most of my childhood holidays either at my grandparent’s farm or in the lovely town of Menton on the Mediterranean south coast of France. I migrated to Australia in my thirties to pursue a lifelong dream of living a creative life in relaxing and tranquil (or ‘hyggelige’ in Danish) surroundings.

Initially I wanted to write, but after moving to Australia I had to accept that my English wasn’t nearly good enough and writing in Danish seems a bit too strange, when you are surrounded by another language. I started working with clay in my younger years, always being fascinated by the way the clay can transform into a bowl on a fast spinning wheel. For many years ceramics were my main focus, – but I went back to painting – something I’ve always been doing (mainly on my clay works) – but this time taking it more seriously.

I create colourful abstract paintings incorporating lots of texture using paper and fabrics. Through my art I unite artistic impressions from two continents and cultures, which over time has fused and become my own unique style.

I participated in my first group exhibition in the late 90’ties and had my first solo exhibition in 2007.

I started sewing in the 1980’s and have participated in countless numbers of courses and workshops. It’s a skill I set a side for years and then pick it up again. Incooperating fabric into my paintings seems like a natural progressing of my fasination with fabrics. A passion for paper initiated the creation of cards and collages in 2002. I love working with paper and fabric, especially re-cycled, and it gives me a nice break away from the paintbrush.

I stopped working with clay as I was getting more and more into my painting. A couple of years ago I took it up again, and I think it might be something I like to dive into again in the near future. 

Alongside my ambition to create, I have owned and managed a nice café, a small art gallery, an art supply retail store and now an online art business. In 2017 I started teaching painting and other creative/handmade classes. I love sharing my experiences and over the last two years I have had a couple of hundred students coming along to my workshops. It took me a little by surprise and a lot of time went into the workshop. So much so, I hardly had any time to create myself. So – I had to step back a bit and work out where I wanted my creative path to go.   

I will continue running the workshops as sharing and creating with others has a big place in my heart, – but there will be fewer. I will continue painting and creating with clay as this has always been my passion. Hopefully one day I will be able to share these creation in an online shop here.

So all in all – I can happily say that I now live life creatively, just like I always dreamt about, – even if the dream was set in France and not in the Australian Bush. But that’s another story!

If you have any questions about me or my work, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

You can read more on my blog and you can also sign up to my monthly newsletter below.

 

You can also find me :

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Etsy              ColoursOnGrey

 

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