Marilyn Hageman holds an MFA in painting. She’s an artist who’s able to capture a sensation of movement, even in the subjects that are seemingly still like trees and flowers. On a summer day, her landscapes conjure up the moments of a soft breeze. Marilyn resides in Illinois and her preferred medium is acrylics. Her rich paintings capture energy and mood. Marveled by their motion and speed, Marilyn began to paint horses at the early age of 3. Currently, she’s a painter of botanicals and natural landscapes, but still strives to capture the romantic energy of the horses she drew in her childhood. In Illinois where she now works and resides, larger-than-life canvases depicting a villa on a hillside or wine or horses line the walls of her studio. She says that she finds it hard to categorize her work. Her brush strokes vary from concise to playful and loose. Just like those of her major artistic influencers including Mary Cassatt and Claude Monet. Her florals are as impressionistic as they are representational. In the 1980s, she attended Colorado State University where she received both her bachelors and masters degree in painting. At the university, she studied under a successful painter and printmaker Jim Dormer, who remains her mentor to date. She says that Dormer’s demanding and uncompromising teaching style brought out her ability and confidence as an artist. Dormer still provides her with support and guidance. The influence of Dormer on her work can clearly be seen in the framed Marilyn Hageman art which are found in private collections and galleries in the United States.