Charlene Marsh has lived and worked since 1987 in beautiful Brown County, Indiana where the air is clear and the water is pure and the land is alive.  Her property borders Yellowwood State Forest where miles of pristine woods and steep hills stretch all around providing her endless painting sources and inspirations in all four seasons. 

Charlene hikes at least two miles every day in the forest on trails she made herself.  She backpacks with her oil painting supplies to create paintings on location year round.  She has regular encounters with deer, raccoons, possums, squirrels, rabbits, songbirds, herons, mallards, wood ducks, beavers, snakes, frogs, newts, and many other critters that inhabitant her area. 

She has hiked up and down the rugged hills in the pouring rain, through two foot snows, ice storms, blistering heat, and bitter cold as well as on balmy spring days and crisp autumn evenings.  Thunderstorms rage and crack around her and trees have fallen within seconds of her passing.  The creek can swell and roar within minutes, the water cascading in tousling waterfalls down the steep hills.  In the late summer, the creek dries up and becomes a docile refuge for thirsty creatures.

Every day in the forest is an exciting adventure.  These paintings are a way to capture the essence of the peace, beauty, and wildness of the forest and bring it into our homes and work spaces. The paintings are like taking a piece of heaven home.