Marylou's girlhood was filled with horses and art. She started drawing horses in first grade. "I drew horses on everything," she laughs. "I bugged my parents from the age of five to buy me a horse and finally when I was thirteen my parents gave in." She spent every possible moment with her horse. Her life completely evolved around her artwork and her horse.

Life goes on and so her artwork took on many avenues until a fellow artist introduced her to pastels and she was hooked. "I absolutely love the wonderful soft effect I get with this media, especially with my horse and pet portraits. They look as if they want to jump off the page."

A self-taught artist, she has learned her craft with an innate desire for perfection and a style that is most definitely her own. "My work is highly detailed. I believe that it is these small elements that create a painting so real you want to reach out and pet them. I portray the character and persona of my subjects by using those small details and that is what makes each one so wonderfully unique," says Marylou. Using reference photographs that she has taken on location or photos that have been sent to her by a client, she renders paintings in her studio. Although pastels are notoriously difficult to master, her paintings reflect a rare quality of skill that is a direct result of thirty years of experience.

Marylou has combined her love of painting and animals to produce remarkable animal portraits. Her goal is to capture the spirit of each animal and to convey its individuality, grace, and strength. Now that her children have all grown she has much more time to devote to her artwork and her horses. Marylou lives in a small town near the base of Mt. Rainier in Washington State. She has a small family of animals including three horses, three cats and a parrot. Needless to say her horses have been her models in many of her original works.