Carolyn Marrone was born in Bendigo where she still lives with her Italian husband. From a young age Carolyn was interested in drawing, preferring to fill school exercise books with caricatures of the teachers instead of the subject notes. Many of these books “accidentally” finished up in the Bendigo Creek when it became time to hand them in for marking.

About 35 years ago she began to take art more seriously and attended classes with Pam Grist and also some workshops with master watercolourists Ross Paterson and Malcolm Webster.

Travelling to Italy on a number of occasions, Carolyn became enamoured with the Italian lifestyle; the meetings in the Piazza for cards or just a talk; the evening “passeggiata” (stroll) involving much meeting and greeting; the daily shopping expedition bringing with it an excuse for a bit more talking; and just the general vitality of the Italian character. It is this character that Carolyn attempts to capture in her paintings, and if an image can raise a laugh or smile, or perhaps a twinge of nostalgia, then she has achieved her goal.

Carolyn has won a number of awards over the years and has works in collections in various states of Australia and overseas.