Marilyn Harrell is a renowned local artist in Western Kentucky. From a very early age, Marilyn had an interest in drawing and coloring. Having grown up on a small farm just outside of Paducah, she was fascinated by the way light and shadow played on different objects around her.She found her niche in the art department at Lone Oak High School, and spent all four years in art classes falling more deeply in love with art. Marilyn attended Murray State University (1971-1975) where she received a Bachelor’s of Fine Art in Education.

Marilyn married her love, Andy, the day after graduation. They moved to Florida where she started teaching art at a rural county high school and spent the next 35 years cultivating that same love of art in many young aspiring artists. “I would tell my students, ‘I’m going to teach you how to see!’ The greatest feeling for me as a teacher was looking at my students’ faces when they understood what it was to see through the eyes of an artist. That aha! moment, and the smiles on their faces.”

After retiring, Marilyn and Andy decided to move back to the family farm in Kentucky, where they live today. When they are not traveling to Florida and California visiting their children and grandchildren, Marilyn spends her time painting the very things around her that inspired her as a child. “I find myself painting the nature around me. I love bright colors and cropped compositions. Mostly the flowers in my yard, but I don’t like to limit myself to subject matter. I will paint whatever I find interests me.”