Creativity through the lens of an Artist, Author and Art Teacher,

"Nature has been my greatest art teacher."

Marquiss has been a professional artist, art teacher and writer in Bend, Oregon, for 34 years, and the author of Behind the Painting – An Artist’s Memoir, published May 7, 2026.
She developed her interest in art as a child, surrounded by the lush beauty of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Marquiss attended both the University of Oregon and UCLA, earning her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. After graduating she became the Marketing Director for the first private psychiatric hospital in Reno, Nevada, and then a product manager for HCA in Nashville, TN.
When her daughter was born, she left her corporate career and returned to her art and writing. “I focused primarily on watercolor because it can be surprising and has a beautiful transparency. Painting with watercolor also teaches about control – when to take it and when to let go –as in life,” she explains. “The abstract cruciform design followed - after years of painting large format florals.”
Her recent memoir holds ten of her paintings and a personal story behind each one over a thirty year period. Over time, her paintings created a circular language between her art and her life.
This book takes the reader on artistic adventures in Paris and Southern France, the process of finding her artistic style and through tough challenges she faced including divorce, family suicide, a stroke and cancer.
As a character voice actor, her daughter Katherine Tole joined Marquiss on the audiobook edition.
Her original art and book information can be seen at www.marymarquiss.com.