Marleen van Aardt

Marleen’s creativity and passion for beauty arose from a sun-soaked childhood in the cerulean waters at the southern tip of Africa where the balmy Indian and icy Atlantic oceans meet.  Her desire to understand the world in granular detail led her to study organic chemistry at Virginia Tech where she received a PhD in Food Science.  Marleen approaches art with an equal measure of a scientist’s eye and an artist’s passion. Her creativity is fluid, like the oceans of her childhood.  Whether painting, designing bespoke wedding gowns, building custom tree houses, creating harmonious garden landscapes, or designing complex research projects, her imagination continually flows.  A self-taught artist, Marleen spent countless hours understanding the foundations of color science and perception.  Her love of nature inspired a passion for plein air painting.  Capturing the essence of the living world as the sunlight shifts and the shadows deepen is a challenge she especially enjoys.  Marleen can often be found painting along rural roadsides, awaiting the rush of wind as her husband’s cycling race sails by.  She currently resides in Upstate, NY with her outrageously fit husband, two children and spunky conure Smitty.