Marie Svardal Brattebø had a dream of creating art since she was a child. But life got in the way, and she had to juggle work and raising four kids. She didn’t give up on her passion, though. She kept painting in her spare time, honing her technique and voice as an artist. Her hard work paid off when she opened her exhibition for the first time in 2019.
Marie’s paintings are vibrant and expressive. She uses a lot of colour, but in a balanced and harmonious way. She wants to convey mood, symbolism, and technique in her work. She hopes to inspire positive and pleasant feelings in the viewers. “I’ve always liked to use a lot of colour in my work, as long as it is a pleasing balance to the eye,” she tells Localfolk.
She finds inspiration in everything around her–a figure, a story, a melody. She lets her mind wander and imagines the painting in her head. Then she goes to the studio and paints with oil on large canvases and very thin brushes. It takes her four to six months to finish a painting.
Marie grew up in Stavanger, after moving from Tromsø when she was seven. She studied drawing and worked as a technical drawer for 12 years. She also did some drawings and illustrations while raising her four kids. “When the kids got older, I got more time to work on my painting skills and started taking art classes. There was a lot of trial and error alone in the studio,” she admits. She wanted to learn more and improve her art.
In 2017, she applied to the Norwegian Association of Independent Artists (NFUK), a national membership organization for visual artists in Norway. It was a challenging and rigorous process, but she made it. She joined a community of artists who opened new doors for her.
In 2018, NFUK celebrated its 25th anniversary, and the jury selected two of Marie’s paintings–Veggpryd and Wallflowers–for the exhibition. Marie worked so hard to finish them that she got a tendon inflammation. But it was worth it. “A well-known art critic commented that my paintings were of good technical quality. That meant a lot to me.”
In 2019, she opened her exhibition for the first time. Now, she runs Gallery Krossen in Sandnes with five other artists from NFUK. Marie continues to explore the different phases of art and hopes to study more and develop her skills.
