Los Angeles artist, Marilyn Rothman, believes that artists should paint what they know and love. Having grown up in Los Angeles, Marilyn naturally gravitates towards the simple beauty of nature. She is inspired artistically by nature’s ever changing palette and presentation.
Marilyn invites the viewer to enjoy the content of her work and to explore the surfaces of her brushwork. To create her subject matter she observes, combines and often invents nature’s images. The final painting is a “calculated surprise” and the goal is to share her inspiration with the viewer.
Marilyn sees art as an evolving process and her overall style is a unique mix of realism and impressionism. Varying her method to reflect the envisioned outcome, she successfully crosses between both styles. Comfortable working with oil, acrylic paint or mixed media, she uses layers of often opposite colors to convey that nature’s glow has a quality all its own. Layers of paint create a rich, often glowing surface, each layer veiling the one beneath to create a visual field of color, shape and light. There is a tactile, almost sculptural feel to the acrylic work, tempting the viewer to touch and explore. The oils are smooth and are meant to be pictorial and to evoke the feeling of quiet peace.
Holding a variety of degrees, Marilyn has enjoyed several successful careers. She began by earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology and Psychology at UCLA, then completed a lifetime teaching credential. She enjoyed a teaching career, became a reading specialist and later completed her Masters Degree in Administration. After working for several years in education, Marilyn stayed at home to be with her young children and then found herself working outside the home once again. Her accumulated knowledge and social intuition were instrumental in her next endeavor; helping teachers and administrators find employment in independent and private schools throughout California.
Marilyn’s interest in art was constant, but her artistic talent became apparent as an adult, when she became a parent and enrolled her children in art classes. She soon found herself experimenting with different artist’s mediums alongside her son and daughter, fascinated by the process and its rewards. When she discovered her love of painting, it quickly became her passion.
Marilyn currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband. Her work can be seen in galleries and private collections throughout the United States. She paints everyday in her studio, under the watchful eyes of her dog, Oliver.