Oil Painting

Charlene Marsh has lived and worked since 1987 in beautiful Brown County, Indiana where the air is clear and the water is pure and the land is alive.

Her property borders Yellowwood State Forest where miles of pristine woods and steep hills stretch all around providing her endless painting sources and inspirations in all four seasons. She backpacks with her oil painting supplies to create paintings on location year round. She paints en plein air using palette knives. Working quickly, wet into wet, she captures the raw essence of the ever changing forest in all four seasons. Every day in the forest is an exciting adventure. These paintings are a way to capture the essence of the peace, beauty, and wildness of the forest and bring it into our homes and work spaces. Studio paintings are inspired by the plein air paintings. The paintings are like taking a piece of heaven home. 

Charlene hikes with her three dogs at least two miles every day in the forest on trails she made herself. She also enjoys riding her two POAs (Ponies of America) on the horse trails in the neighboring forest. Herons and mallards land on her pond full of fragrant lotus blossoms in mid-summer. Dozens of delicate hummingbirds flock to the feeders and flowers she keeps for them.  Charlene enjoys gardening, growing both flowers and edibles. She also enjoys collecting wild edibles from her property and from the forest to make green juice and smoothies that make up much of her 100% organic raw food diet. 

Charlene travels to top ranked art festivals throughout the country to exhibit and sell her original oil paintings. Shows include Cherry Creek Arts Festival in Denver, Plaza Art Fair in Kansas City, Milwaukee's Lakefront Festival of the Arts and many others. Awards include a Best of Show at the Saint James Court Art Show in Louisville, ranked #1 in the country by Sunshine Artist Magazine. Her paintings are in collections throughout the United States and Europe. She graduated from Indiana University, Bloomington, with degrees in Fine Arts and English.