Her interest in art started at a young age. Her mother started taking Marilyn to art exhibits in Portland, and then enrolled the youngster in art classes offered at the Portland Art Museum. Among her treasured gifts was a set of Windsor & Newton sable paint brushes.
“I’ve always been interested in art — even as a child,” Webberley said. “My friends were all getting bicycles. I didn’t want a bicycle; I wanted art supplies.”
That childhood enthusiasm never faded. In fact, it sparked a lifelong career. After graduating from Camas High School in 1957, Webberley earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington where she studied commercial and fine art. Over the years, she continued to study with accomplished painters and at renowned art academies.
Today, decades later, she is a published author, illustrator and graphic designer. She taught university level courses and private workshops in drawing, sketching, painting, design, calligraphy, the history of alphabets, and simple bookmaking, and served on the faculty of two international calligraphy conferences held at the University of Portland. Her work is in corporate collections in the United States, as well as private collections in the U.S., Bahamas, UK, Europe, Middle East and Asia.
In 2012, several pieces of her work was chosen by curators of the U.S. State Department’s Art in Embassies program for display in the U.S. Embassy residence in Tel Aviv, Isreal. Her paintings have also appeared in Seattle venues including metro bus banners, storefronts, theater stages, museums and galleries, as well as in more than more than 70 juried exhibitions.
