Painting a new chapter

After picking up brushes and watercolour paints when recuperating from an injury, Marsley Tyler has taken her art to another level, winning a major prize at the Marlborough Art Society’s 2025 Members’ Annual Exhibition.

Marsley’s work, ‘Chapters of Time’, was awarded the Stella de Gruchy Cup for best painting in show, judged by Min Kim.

However, when she was announced as the winner, Marsley says she was “so overwhelmed, I wasn’t concentrating at all on the feedback”.

“Min told me that when she walked into the gallery, she was just drawn to the warmth she felt when she saw my artwork.

“There were so many beautiful pieces entered in the exhibition that being announced as the winner was completely unexpected. There are a few photos of me just looking gobsmacked”, she adds with a laugh.

Having taught herself watercolour painting, Marsley hopes her recent success will help her balance painting with the love of the process and creating commissions.
She says she entered the exhibition to build confidence and maybe receive some recognition to gain future detailed watercolour commissions.

“Commissions mean I can paint and pay the bills, but I’d love to paint just for the sake of painting.

“I picked up painting again after going through an Achilles injury, to replace being active during the rehabilitation.  I just fell in love with the intricate detail of portrait painting and the processes of putting it together – videos on Google have been such a great help in learning techniques.

‘For my painting, the story that I built in my head is that she is reading back on her own life, contemplating one chapter with a library behind her.”

See ‘Chapters of Time’ as part of the Marlborough Art Society Member’s Exhibition until Sunday 24 August. and contact [email protected] for more details.